Dark Secrets
by CullenCrazy1918
Summary: "You-your eyes," Alice stuttered yet again. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Th-they're black." I felt the smirk pull at my lips. "Glad to know you're not colorblind, Leech," I murmured, sarcastically. "What are you?" Alice asked, a very determined look setting over her face. My smirk grew and I chuckled darkly. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Alice's glare came back full force.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So... long time no... well, me. I've been around the site just haven't updated anything for a while... a really long while. Anyway, I dunno why/how I thought of this story. It is COMPLETELY different than anything I have ever written before. Yes, it is a Bella/Alice pairing. To be honest, I'm not even sure I want to post it but I'll see what happens. If people don't like it much, I'll take it down. I just wanted to see if people thought it was worth reading. I kind of like some of my ideas for it. I think they're pretty different to other stories on here so we'll see. Please give it a chance and let me know!**

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**Chapter 1**

_**Bella's POV**_

"Hey Bells, I'm gonna run to the grocery store to grab some bread. Do you wanna come or keep unpacking?" Charlie, my father for all intents and purposes, called from downstairs. I was currently in my new room, trying to organize my stuff in it. I had just moved here from Phoenix.

"Nah, I'll come!" I called down to him. I wanted to get out of the house a bit and see more of the town I would be living in until I graduated from High School. I grabbed my phone and hopped down the stairs, quickly. Charlie smiled, his moustache twitching. I followed him out to his cruiser.

Charlie was the chief of police in Forks, Washington. Forks was a small town, with very little to do. Little did anyone know, I wasn't necessarily here for the activities this town provided. The story was that I had moved up from Phoenix to live with my father because my mother was traveling with my step-father slash minor league baseball player. Honestly, that story was a truthful as my love for men. I guess that joke wouldn't be understood unless you knew that fact that I was one hundred percent gay.

Anyway, Charlie pulled up to the grocery store at around five in the evening. He jumped out of the car and I followed after him into the tiny convenience store that could be considered a grocery store. It was going to take a lot to get used to being in such a small town. I followed behind Charlie, not really paying much attention to anything. Charlie suddenly stopped walking in the middle of the aisle and I bumped into him.

"Sorry," I mumbled. Charlie tapped my shoulder and I looked up. He held a finger to his lips for a second before nodding over to his left, towards the end of the aisle. I furrowed my eyebrows and turned my eyes to where he was indicating. My eyes landed on a petite girl, crouched down in front of the plastic plates, bowls, and cups. I looked back at Charlie and nodded, smirking.

'Careful,' he mouthed, before walking back through the aisle, the way we came, the opposite direction from the girl. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders as I started towards the girl. She was short, I could tell from how she was crouching. She had jet black, short hair that sat up like spikes. She wasn't bad looking. But then again, none of them really are. Charlie had told me they were different from others but still, a warning is in order. As I got closer to the girl, she stood up with a bag of plastic cups, reading over the label intently. She didn't even notice me walking past. Or rather, she did but she didn't make a move to show it. I purposely side-stepped as I walked next to her, bumping into her shoulder just enough that it would have pushed any regular person over. She looked up immediately and turned to me. She probably thought I would have fallen. Most people would have. Little did she know I wasn't _most_ people. When she saw that I hadn't even lost my balance, she looked confused for a split second before smiling widely.

"I'm sorry," she said, sounding way too happy for her own good. "Are you new to Forks? I haven't seen you around," she pointed out. I forced myself not to scoff.

"Yeah. I just moved here," I responded, trying incredibly hard to seem nice. This girl's smile widened, if that was possible and she bounced a little. I realized that I had been correct in my guess of her height. She was a good few inches shorter than me.

"Oh! Are you Chief Swan's daughter? Isabella, right?" She spoke quickly. Damn, she is so excited. What is she so excited about? I nodded. "I'm Alice Cullen! Are you going to be going to Forks High Sc-"

"Alright cut the shit," I cut her off, letting my instincts take over. She was the enemy. No small talk about high school and crap.

"I'm sorry," Alice looked completely confused, her smile faltering and her eyebrows furrowing. She looked kinda cute. _No_. _No she didn't_. "What did you just s-"

"Oh I'm sorry. Here I was thinking that hearing was one of your enhanced senses," I remarked, sarcastically. Alice's expression turned even more confused.

"Excuse me?" She asked, looking at me like I was crazy. I couldn't help the slightly dark chuckle. I took a step forward and leaned up next to her so my mouth was in line with her ear. I suppressed the thoughts about how good she smelled.

"This is how it's going to work. You're going to go home to your little 'family'," I spoke quietly next to her ear, with her standing incredibly still. When I said 'family', I brought my hands up and made air quotes while scowling. "And you're going to tell them this: you're cover's blown. I. Know. What. You. Are. And if you're family's smart, you'll either leave this town or won't cause an ounce of trouble. Does that make sense?" I turned my head slightly to look at the girl next to me. She was frozen, shock written all over her face.

"I-I don't-" Seriously? She was still going down the 'I don't know what you're talking about' road? I rolled my eyes.

"Be a good little vampire and nod your head," I ordered, pulling away so I was standing in front of her again. Her jaw was hanging open and she was looking at me like I had just grown five heads.

"H-how… w-why…" She stammered and I couldn't help but smirk.

"Bella, it's time to go, Kiddo," Charlie called from behind me. His eyes flashed between Alice and I, a little worry showing. C'mon Charlie, give me some credit, I thought.

"Coming," I called back to him. "I'll be watching, Alice," I warned the gaping girl in front of me. I smirked once more, winked, and spun around to follow Charlie home. As I neared him, he looked at me nervously.

"Satisfied?" He asked quietly.

"Very," I answered. I think I'm going to like it here in Forks, Washington.

_**Alice's POV**_

What the H-E-double-hockey-sticks just happened?! I raced home, confusion consuming my every thought.

Who was this girl?

How did she know?

What did she want?

What was she going to do with what she knows?

And more importantly, why did I feel drawn to this threatening girl?

"We've got a situation!" I called as I entered my house. In less than a few seconds, my family joined me in the living room.

How was I supposed to explain what just happened?

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**A/N: Well there it is. The first chapter anyway. I have quite a few more written. **

**Since I haven't written anything like this before, I was wondering if someone wanted to help me out a bit? I could definitely use some help, sort of like a beta who could maybe read through the chapters before I post them and help me out with ideas? If anyone's interested let me know! :) **

**I also don't really like the title of this story so any ideas for that would be AMAZING! Oh and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So... I'm feeling generous and I decided to upload chapter 2 of my new story here! Hope you like and and to clarify: No Bella is not human (at least not all human) **

**;)**

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**Chapter 2**

_**Bella's POV**_

"So how long are you here for?" My old friend Jacob asked. Honestly, I was born in Forks so Jake and I had been friends as kids. When I moved away, we tried to keep in touch. I was currently sitting in his Volkswagen Rabbit, in his garage, while he worked on the engine parts. He had music blasting out of the radio to the corner and grease all over his face, as he stood shirtless behind the hood of the car. I shrugged and leaned back so my back was pressed against the door of the car.

"I dunno yet," I murmured. I really wasn't sure how long I would be here for.

"Hmm… you know, I don't think you're gonna have a lot of trouble from them," Jacob told me. His head popped to the side of the hood so I could see his face. He looked sincere.

"Who? The leeches?" I asked. "No trouble from a vampire? Is that even possible? I thought they were bred for trouble," I muttered, with sarcasm dripping from my voice. Jacob sighed and shut the hood of the car. He grabbed a rag and wiped some grease from his face.

"They haven't done anything threatening since they moved here," Jake explained. Was he seriously about to defend them?

"Moved back," I corrected him. He rolled his eyes and walked over to the mini-fridge to grab a soda. He tossed one to me and I opened it, enjoying the feeling of the cool liquid as it poured down my throat.

"Whatever. You know what I meant," he said. I scoffed.

"I know exactly what you meant," I practically growled, jumping out of the car and walking towards the door.

"Wait! What is that supposed to mean?" Jake called after me, following me. I rolled my eyes and spun around to face him. He was jogging up to me and stopped right after I spun around so we were only a few inches away from each other.

"Tell me something Jake. Do all supernatural beings defend each other? Or is it just you and those bloody leeches?" I growled out. Jake looked at me, looking a little worried.

"S-supernatural being? You think I'm a super-" I cut him off.

"When were you going to tell me Jake? Huh? Never?" I questioned him. Jake shook his head.

"Bella-" He started but I cut him off again.

"Oh cut the bullshit Jacob! It's really not that hard to figure out! You look like a freaking body builder, you walk around half-naked, and you have a goddamn tribe tattoo!" I yelled at him. First he insults me by not telling me and now he doesn't think I have the eye to see that he's a shape-shifter or werewolf or whatever the hell he wanted to be called. Jake looked at me for a moment before sighing and shrugging his shoulders.

"I…" He trailed off, thinking of a way to explain. I shifted my weight and took a deep breath. "I couldn't have just told you Bells. It's against the rules." I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever," I turned and started walking back to the house. Charlie was currently watching some game with Jake's dad, Billy.

"Wait, Bells, I'm still picking you up from school tomorrow right?" Jake asked. I wanted to say no but Charlie was my only ride and he had to work all day so I nodded. Jacob smiled his goofy, kid-like smile and followed me as I walked into his house.

"You ready to go?" Charlie asked, standing up from the couch. I nodded and waved to Billy. He smiled back and told me that I was welcome to come by anytime.

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"Try not to get in too much trouble today," Charlie warned as I hopped out of his cruiser in the parking lot of Forks High School. I chuckled and winked at him as I flung my school bag over my shoulder and started for the front office. There were a few students outside already. Charlie had dropped me off early so I could run and get my schedule before the bell rang. There were quite a few little clusters of people. Ugh, I thought, I hate school clicks.

I walked into the front office. It was small, like a small waiting room of a doctor's office. My eyes caught the sight of a large, red-haired woman who had gasses perched on her nose. As if sensing my eyes on her, she looked up.

"Can I help you?" She asked, politely, although she sounded a tad bored.

"I'm Isabella Sawn," I told her. Understanding fell across her face and she pulled open a drawer from a large metal cabinet behind her.

"Of course," she mumbled as she flipped through the files, before pulling a folder out. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She handed me a few sheets of paper. She read through my schedule and pointed out where all the classes were. When she was done, I thanked her and walked out of the office. By now the parking lot was much more crowded. My eyes scanned the lot for anything unusual and landed on a group of incredibly good looking teenagers, hanging out by a big red jeep parked next to a gorgeous red BMW convertible. I smirked as I scanned them through.

A tall, very muscular man with dark, curly hair had his arm strung over a very tall blonde, with legs that went on for days. I swallowed and forced my inappropriate thoughts away and focused on examining the others. There was a lanky, less muscular man with bronze-colored hair, whose eyes were scanning the whole parking lot much like mine. Then was a taller, leaner, and semi-muscular man with honey blond hair that was whispering with a familiar face. Looking at her from afar, I realized how good-looking she really was. She was almost pixie-like. Her hair pointed in every direction and her eyes snapped up to meet mine.

I couldn't help but smirk and send her a wink. She said something, getting the attention of the others and I dropped my face to look at the map of the school, as I walked closer to the group, trying to look as lost as possible. I looked up at a building number and back to my map, mumbling about how confusing the campus was.

"She looks harmless to me, Alice," I heard the honey blond man say as I got closer to the group. I internally chuckled. Aw, poor little Alice isn't believed by her 'family' about the big bad Bella Swan.

The first period I had was English with a man named Mr. Mason. English was a strong subject of mine so I wasn't too worried about that class. It was in building three which I knew according to the map was behind me but I still wanted to get as much out of the conversation of the group in front of me as I could.

I timed my steps and as I was hoping for, I walked straight into the big, hulk of a man who had the lucky right to call the blonde Aphrodite his.

"Watch it," Blondie growled. The blonde: a bitch. Got it.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, trying to look upset and confused. Psh, I should be an actress. _And the Oscar goes to…_ I looked up at the man, who was smiling a friendly smile.

"Don't worry about it. You need help finding somewhere?" He asked me, seeming genuinely kind. I forced myself not to roll my eyes.

"Emmett," Alice warned, quietly. She probably didn't think I heard it.

"Uhh... yeah… I'm new and I don't know where my first class is…" I explained, sounding stressed. He held out his hand and I handed him my schedule, purposefully making my hand shake slightly to seem like I was nervous. He looked down at the paper and read over it quickly.

"Oh you have Mason for first! My sister, Alice, does too! I'm sure she can walk with you," Emmett told me, smiling like a little boy. It almost reminded me of Jacob a bit. I smirked and forced it into a smile so it wouldn't look weird.

"Emmett!" Alice whisper-yelled. I wanted to laugh. I really, really wanted to laugh but I forced myself to frown and looked down, trying to look rejected.

"Alice," the golden blond boy, who was standing too close to Alice for my liking, murmured as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Fine," Alice grumbled, shrugging his hand off and glaring at me. She stalked towards me. "Come on," she practically growled at me as she walked past me, I turned and followed next to her. The farther we got from her 'family', the more I relaxed. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing but I don't like it." I let a chuckle out, sounding a little darker than I was expecting.

"Oh but it's _so_ much fun," I murmured, letting my smirk back in place. Alice slowed down as we neared the building. I turned to look at her. She looked pissed. It was kind of cute the way her eyebrows furrowed slightly and she clenched her jaw. As we got closer to the door of the building, Alice stopped and spun around so she was in front of me.

"What do you want?" She whispered. Her eyes met mine as if she was trying to read me.

"I haven't decided yet," I murmured, smirking as I stepped around her and walked into the building. Many people were already in their seats when I entered the classroom. I walked over to Mr. Mason and handed him my schedule. He looked at the schedule and then to me before sighing. I had a feeling like many of my teachers wouldn't appreciate the fact that I was coming into their classrooms halfway through the year.

"Well Ms. Swan, you're going to be very behind. I'll have to put you next to someone who will be able to catch you up," he mumbled. His eyes looked past me and he smiled. "Ah Alice! Come meet your new partner. I need you to catch Isabella up on what we're learning."

"You've got to be kidding me," Alice whispered quietly, groaning. "Yes Mr. Mason," she responded politely, forcing a smile for the man before glaring at me yet again, when he turned back around to write something on the board. I followed Alice to the back of the room and sat next to her. We were in the far right, away from the door of the room I might add, and in the last row of the classroom. "Wonderful. Just wonderful," Alice mumbled to herself. I leaned towards her and smirked as she stiffened.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I would say that you didn't like me." I pulled back and leaned back in my chair, folding my hands over my chest. She didn't respond to that and I let my attention wander to Mr. Mason as he started the lesson shortly after the bell rang. Just as I had thought, I had already read the book that the class was studying. It was nice to know I wouldn't be lost in the class but in a way I sort of wanted the private tutoring sessions from Alice. As the bell rang again, indicating the end of period one, I noticed Alice smirk. What is that about? I was about to ask her when a boy walked up to me. I turned to him. He had skin problems and black, oiled back hair.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He asked, smiling slightly.

"Bella," I corrected him. I saw Alice's smirk grow as she turned to watch the conversation.

"I'm Eric. So uh… where's your next class?" He asked, starting to fidget with his hands. Oh please no.

"Uh Government with Jefferson, in building six," I responded, silently begging him to not make a fool of himself. He looked like a kind kid.

"Oh! Well I'm headed over to building four. I could show you the way if you like."

"I think I can find my way. Thanks though," I told him as I stood up and picked up my bag.

"Oh. Okay then. Um… well maybe we could… you know, hang out sometime," he started and I shook my head.

"Look, Eric, you seem like a nice guy-" He smiled widely and cut me off.

"So that's a yes?" He asked, hopefully.

"I can't go out with you Eric," I told him. His expression dropped. "You're not my type."

"Well... what is your type?" He asked. I was trying to let him off easily. Was he really going to be this hard?

"A little bit more in the chest and a little less in the pants," I explained. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Alice's eyebrows shoot up.

"W-what?" Eric stuttered. Jeez, did I have to spell it out for him. I rolled my eyes.

"I like girls Eric," I explained. He looked at me, confused. Seriously? "Ugh… I like girls. I like dating them. I like kissing them. Okay? Is this starting to make sense?" I asked him. He nodded. I shook my head and patted his shoulder as I walked past him. I heard Alice follow me out of the room.

"You could have let him down easier," she muttered, behind me. I clenched my jaw and continued walking towards my next class. I knew Alice was still following me and after trying to calm myself down, I snapped and spun around.

"Why are you following me?!" I yelled. A few students, walking past us, slowed, wondering what was going on. Alice looked up at me and took a step back when she realized how close we were.

"I have the same class as you," she mumbled, looking down. Oh. Stupid, stupid Bella. I sighed and turned back around.

Government was uneventful. As was Trigonometry and Spanish. Out of the four classes I have had so far, I had Alice in the first two. I met this nice girl named Angela, who sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish. She was very kind and I instantly thought that her and Eric would make a cute couple. She invited me to sit with her and her friends at lunch and I graciously accepted. The only other person that I knew was Alice and her family still thought I was just a harmless teenage girl. I sort of wanted to see how long I could play that out.

Luckily, Angela's friends sat at the perfect table. It was a few tables away from Alice's family's table. Just enough that it didn't look like I was following them but I could still manage to hear some of what they said. Plus, I managed to get a seat so I was facing them. It was times like these that I was glad I was good at reading lips.

I was sitting next to Angela and another girl who was in my Spanish class. Her name was Jessica, I think. Eric showed up and smiled nervously at me. I returned the smile. He sat down next to Angela and they started talking about some project they were doing. Jessica was flirting obnoxiously with this guy who wouldn't stop staring at my chest. I mean, seriously?

I focused my eyes on the family a few tables away. They all sat together in the corner of the cafeteria. I sighed and looked through them. All of them were there. I could see Alice's face. She was sitting next to the honey blond haired guy who had been whispering to her this morning. The bronze haired guy sat on her other side. The hulk-like guy was sitting with Blondie on the other side of the table with their backs to me. Honestly, it wasn't that hard to figure out they were vampires. I mean, they were all incredibly pale and good-looking. They very obviously didn't eat anything. It was a wonder, really, how no one suspected them. But I guess a bunch of teenagers would rather find out a way to get into each other's pants than focus on the odd family that the saw everyday at school. I felt someone elbow me and I tuned to see Angela smiling next to me.

"Stop staring Bella," she giggled. I rolled my eyes.

"What do you know about them?" I asked her, trying to just sound like a curious new student as I nodded towards the table.

"The Cullen's?" Angela asked, looking towards the table. I followed her gaze to see the bronze haired guy's lip twitch. I forced myself not to roll my eyes.

"Oh my god, you guys are talking about the Cullen's?" Jessica asked, turning towards us. I nodded. Here comes the teenage gossip. "They're Doctor and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids."

"Yeah they moved here from Alaska, like a few months ago," Angela added. "They tend to keep to themselves."

"Yeah, 'cause they're all like together. Like together, together," Jessica explained. She sighed and turned towards the table, pointing, with her fork to Blondie. "The blonde girl, that's Rosalie and the big, dark haired guy is Emmett. They're like a thing. I'm not even sure that's legal."

"Jess, they're not actually related," Angela responded. Jessica rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"Yeah but they live together, it's weird. Okay the dark haired girl's Alice. She's like really weird," Jessica said, pointing to Alice. I clenched my fist under the table. Why did I care that she called Alice weird? "And she's with Jasper, the blond one that looks like he's in pain." I couldn't help but chuckled when she said that.

"Um, Dr. Cullen's like this foster dad slash match maker," Angela added. The bronze haired guy, who I didn't know the name of looked as if he was trying not to laugh.

"And who's that?" I asked, nodding towards the only one at the table I didn't know the name of.

"That's Edward Cullen. Totally gorgeous, obviously," she smirked. I rolled my eyes. "But apparently, nobody here's good enough for him, like I care." Something about the way she said it made me think she did care. "So, yeah, seriously, like, don't waste your time."

"Wasn't going to," I murmured. Both Angela and Jessica went back to their conversations from before. I looked back up towards the Cullen's. Edward's eyes caught mine. Instead of looking away like I was about to do, I kept eye contact with him, wondering why he was looking at me so intensely. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment and he glared at me before turning to Alice. He spoke softly so I couldn't hear him but I got "can't" and "read her" from his lips. He can't read me? Damn, we've got a freaking mind reader. Just freakin' awesome. Alice's eyes looked up and met mine again. She said something to her family. Jasper shrugged and shook his head. She said something to him and it looked as if she was arguing. Did her family still not believe her? Damn, I didn't think I was that good of an actor.

"Hey Bella? Bella? Hello?" Angela was waving a hand in front of my face and I turned towards her again. "What class do you have next?" She asked, nicely. I looked down at my schedule.

"Uh Biology with Mr. Banner," I told her. She smiled.

"Cool! Me t-" Angela started but was cut off by Mr. I-don't-know-where-your-eyes-are.

"I'm in that class also! I can walk with you," he suggested, smiling.

"Mike, we can all walk together," Angela told him. His smile faltered a little but he still looked happy. I rolled my eyes. You have no chance, Mike, I thought.

* * *

As I walked into Biology, I walked straight over to Mr. Banner and handed him my schedule. Mike had been blabbing on and on the whole way to the classroom but I managed to shut him out most of the walk. Mr. Banner looked over my schedule and telling me to find place to sit. I turned around and saw that the class was quite large. There was only one seat left. I forced down the groan as I walked towards Edward and sat down on the only remaining seat left, next to him. Luckily, we were only taking notes during this class so I didn't have to work with him.

I could feel his eyes on my face for the first ten minutes of class. He was just staring. Did he not realize that was rude? After another five minutes, I was sick of it. I turned to him.

"Can I help you?" I asked, quietly. Mr. Banner was explaining the stages of mitosis. I'm sure he wouldn't have been extremely pleased to have us interrupt him.

"I'm Edward Cullen. You're Isabella Swan, correct?" He asked. I sighed, checked to make sure Mr. Banner wasn't paying attention and nodded.

"I prefer Bella," I told him, quietly.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said. Did he not realize that he sounds like he's from a different century when he talks like that? No one talks like that anymore unless they're in like a business meeting or something.

"You too," I mumbled, trying to make it sound honest. Because in all honesty, I already hated the guy sitting next to me. He seemed like he thought that everything was well in the world when he was in the room.

"You know my sister, Alice," he stated. What the hell was I supposed to say to that? I nodded, slowly. I tried to look interested in taking the notes so maybe he would take the hint and leave me alone but no such luck. "She seems to think you're not exactly who you say you are." I bit my tongue and tried my best to look at him with confusion. "Yes well-"

"Mr. Cullen, is there something you would like to share with the class?" Mr. Banner cut him off, looking rather irritated. Edward looked up and shook his head.

"No Sir," he said quickly. Mr. Banner nodded.

"Then no more interruptions please," he ordered before going back into his lecture.

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**A/N: Hoped you liked that! I'm still not sure about the title and I would LOVE some help with the story itself so if you're interested, let me know!**

**Quick shout out to Hounds! Thanks for the review!**

**I also want to thank dcgrl, trang-a-lang, xxEm'n'JJevaxx, Misterious Minds, DontKnowDontTell, DoctorSkulduggery, Cowboy in me, Milink, vzrbitdf, and lerofm for favoriting and following this story here! (sorry if I butchered your names)**

** PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm so thrilled with the reviews I have gotten so far for this story! I'm really happy that you guys are enjoying it. I think this may be the last chapter for a few days until I find someone to help me out with writing. If you're interested or know someone who might be, PM me!  
**

**I'd also like to send a quick shout-out to ****nightterror56 who helped come up with the new title: Dark Secrets! Thank you!**

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**Chapter 3**

_**Bella's POV**_

Finally, sixth period rolled around. I was glad that the day was almost over. My last period was art. I was extremely happy that I was able to finish the day off with a fun class. I looked down at my schedule to see who the teacher was and froze when I read "Mrs. Cullen". Seriously? Not only did I have to deal with the teenagers. I had to deal with their 'adoptive mother'. _Great, just freakin' great_, I thought sarcastically.

As I walked into the room, I was met by the smell of paint and a mix of other artsy smells. I saw a taller, skinny woman standing with her back to me. She was talking with someone who she was blocking. She had long, caramel colored hair. As I got closer, I heard a familiar voice.

"I'm telling the truth Esme. No one-" Alice stopped talking when Mrs. Cullen turned around as I walked into the room. I was semi-early. There were only a few other students in the room already.

"Hi. Um I'm here for art with Mrs. Cullen?" I asked, trying to seem unsure. Mrs. Cullen smiled and opened her mouth to speak but Alice beat her.

"No! No you're not! Get out!" She said, sounding upset. She had that cute little pissed off expression again.

"Alice," Mrs. Cullen warned, in a stern tone. Alice shook her head.

"No," she got up and stood in front of me. I clenched my jaw and forced myself not to shove her away. I hated it when people got in my face. "You can come in this school and ruin my mornings and act like you're not up to something. My family may believe you but I sure as hell don't. But you cannot, I repeat _cannot_, ruin my one class a day that makes me happy," she growled quietly. Mrs. Cullen was behind me so she couldn't see the smirk I sent Alice. Alice glared at me.

"Mary Alice Cullen!" Her mother whisper-yelled, trying not to cause a scene. "Apologize right now." Alice turned her glare from me to her mother. Her face softened and she pouted. My eyes dropped to her jutted out lip and I swallowed. After a few seconds, she sighed.

"Fine," she grumbled. "I'm sorry," she mumbled to me before pushing past me to go sit at a stool at one of the tables in the back where no one else sat.

"I apologize about my daughter. She's normally not like this," Mrs. Cullen explained, smiling softly. "You can sit wherever you would like, dear." I nodded and turned towards the class. Of course the only person who looked remotely familiar was Alice. I walked towards her.

She was sitting at the back table, alone. She had a sketch book in front of her and was glaring at the page in front of her. I pulled out the stool next to her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her tense up slightly but she didn't move or say anything. Once the bell rang, Mrs. Cullen informed us that today was a free day and to stay productive. I pulled out my sketch book and grabbed a box of pencils. As I started to draw, nothing in particular really, Alice sighed behind me and slumped her shoulders.

"It's not true, you know," she mumbled. I raised my eyebrow but kept my eyes on the paper in front of me. I kept quiet, not wanting to give myself away to her 'mother'. Alice sighed again next to me. "I mean, what the girls said at your table," she continued, trailing off. I have to admit, I was slightly curious as to what she was talking about but I feigned boredom. "I'm not… with Jasper."

"And why would I give a shit about who you're with?" I snapped, turning to face her. She looked up and shrugged slightly.

"I dunno… I just…" She trailed off and ducked her head and continued to draw. I took a deep breath and turned back to my paper. For a reason I didn't know and absolutely hated, I was sort of happy that she wasn't with that Jasper guy. And that frustrated me. I shouldn't care if she's with someone or not.

I zoned out for the rest of the class. Alice didn't talk or barely moved for that matter. She seemed just as into sketching as I did. I couldn't stop my mind from wandering to why the hell I was happy about what she had told me. When the bell finally rang, at the end of the day, I sighed and looked down at the drawing I had just done. It was a perfect image of Alice's face. She had that cute little pissed off expression. I slammed my sketch book shut when I realized that I had been drawing the girl sitting next to me the whole class, without even realizing it. I stuffed my book into my bag and stood up and started walking towards the door.

"Bella, dear, could I see what you were working on? You were one of the only people in the class who actually concentrated on what they were drawing today," Mrs. Cullen asked, seeming polite. I shook my head quickly.

"It's not really any good," I lied. It was perfect. It looked like I had taken a picture of Alice's face and made it black and white on my page. Alice, who was still sitting in the back of the room, looked up, suddenly, looking curious and confused.

"Oh, I'm sure it's better than you think," Mrs. Cullen smiled. I shook my head.

"Maybe next time. It's really not any of my best work," I told her, inching my way to the door. Mrs. Cullen's smile dropped slightly and she nodded.

"Alright then. Next time. Have a good evening." I managed to get out of the room and I quickly got out of the building. Once I was in the cool Forks air, I took a deep breath and shook my head. It was a coincidence. She was sitting next to me, therefore I drew her. It's nothing more than that. I made my way to the parking lot and looked around for Jake's car. I didn't see it but my eyes landed on him leaning against a big, rusty, red pickup truck. My eyebrows furrowed and I wondered who's car it was. To my left, I noticed the Cullen's watching me carefully. I rolled my eyes. Could they be any more obvious?

As I got closer to Jacob, I saw Alice join her siblings and they looked to her before she shrugged and looked at me. Poor thing. Her family still doesn't believe her. Jake pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Hey there Bells," he said, smiling like he knew something I didn't. I nodded a hello and turned to the truck.

"Who's truck?" I asked. He smirked and threw a pair of keys towards me. I caught them, obviously.

"Yours," he said, smugly. I looked at him and the rusty old truck and back to him. Was he serious? This thing? Jake chuckled.

"Yeah I know. It used to be mine. It looks like crap but it runs. At least it'll be good till you get your bike back," he said. At the mention of my baby, I smirked. Yeah, I guess this truck will do until I get my baby back. "Plus, Charlie bought it off my dad, so you may want to act a tad grateful when you get home."

"Thanks for the heads up," I told him. He nodded once and walked around to the passenger side. I looked past him to see the Cullen's still watching me. I pursed my lip and my eyes landed on Alice, who was watching me intently. I saw her eyebrow raise slightly in competition. I couldn't help the smirk that appeared on my face.

"Bells, you coming?" Jake asked from inside the truck. I sighed and decided that playing actress was over.

"Yeah. Give me a second," I told him. I focused my eyes on Edward, Mr. Mind-reader, or at least that's what I thought. I guess I'll be finding out of that's true.

I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath, visualizing the elastic band that I knew so well. I clenched my jaw and pushed it away from me. It tried to recoil back but I managed to push it away and I opened my eyes, setting them so I was looking Edward straight in the eyes.

_You know, you should really give your sister a little more credit there, Edward. It's rude to not believe family._

I blinked and let the elastic band, that I knew as my shield, snap back into place. I let my eyes wander to Edward, who's eyes were wide open in shock. Alice was looking between Edward and I so quickly that if she was human, she would have gotten whiplash. I smirked and chuckled darkly. I let my eyes land back on Alice and I winked before opening my door and sliding in.

"What the hell did you just do?" Jacob asked me, looking confused.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I told him, pretending to be innocent and I spared one more glance over to the family of fuming vampires, all of which glared at me menacingly. I couldn't help but laugh as I drove out of the school parking lot.

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**A/N: Well sorry about how short that was... my chapters have a pretty large range of length... Anyway, I hope you liked it. Some people were getting worried that Alice's family wouldn't believe her for a while but they know the truth now... well as much as Alice knows anyway ;) Let me know what you think! And PLEASE if you're interested in helping me out with future chapters (and ideas), I'd be so grateful!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So it's been about a week since my last update so I thought I'd give you guys another one. Thanks so much for all the reviews so far! I'm glad you all like this story :) I'm still searching for someone to help me out with this story and updates may take a while until I find someone. I have messaged a few people but no one's gotten back to me yet so if you're interested, PLEASE let me know!**

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**Chapter 4**

_**Alice's POV**_

"She's a danger to our family!" Edward growled, standing up from the couch.

We were in the middle of another one of our family meetings. This one was about a certain Bella Swan. Rosalie was flipping through a magazine, looking bored with Emmett sitting on the arm of the chair, looking thoughtful. Carlisle was sitting on the edge of a cushion on the couch with his hand on his chin as he was deep in thought. Esme sat next to him, rubbing his back up and down slowly as if it would calm him. Carlisle was normally the calmest person I knew. Jasper and his mate were out hunting… or doing other things but I shook my head, trying not to think about my family's love life.

"We don't know that yet Edward," Carlisle told him, calmly. I silently thanked Carlisle for not jumping to conclusions like Edward was. I mean, I know that Bella is dangerous. But I don't know if she means any harm to this family.

"Well _I_ can't read her so-" I cut him off.

"And I can barely see her future! That doesn't mean we have to jump to the conclusion that she's a threat!" I yelled. Edward turned to me, looking confused. For a moment, something just came over me and I had to defend this new girl. I shook my head.

It was true. I hadn't seen much of Bella's future. It wasn't that I couldn't see it. It was just that it seemed blurry or fuzzy, almost. Nothing I saw seemed definite. It was frustrating. So I understood that Edward was bothered by this strange turn of events. But unlike Edward, I didn't rely on my gift.

Edward sighed and held the bridge of his nose like he does when he gets irritated and sat back down next to Carlisle. My adoptive father put his hand on Edward's shoulder.

"Alice is right. We mustn't jump to conclusions," Carlisle explained. "Maybe she just needs to know that we're not a threat to her," Carlisle seemed to be thinking out loud. I understood what he wanted. He wanted Bella to come here so her could talk to her.

"I really don't think she'll agree to that," I said, quietly, still confused about my outburst from before. Carlisle pursed his lips in thought for a moment before standing up and walking towards me.

"Then you'll just have to figure out a way to make her," he told me before smiling slightly and patting my shoulder as he walked passed me, towards his office. Esme gave me a warm smile as she followed him.

I looked up at Edward and was confused to see him glaring at me for a moment.

_What?_ I thought. He shook his head, stood up abruptly and stormed out of the room, leaving me alone with Rosalie and Emmett, who were now sucking face, to wonder how to get Bella to talk with my father

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_**Bella's POV**_

I couldn't help the smirk as my phone went off. _Don't Cha_ by the Pussycat Dolls rang around Jake's car on our way to my school. He was dropping me off this morning because my truck somehow got a flat tire last night. I really have no idea how. I definitely did not sneak out and do it at one this morning. Nope.

Anyway, Jake gave me a funny look as my phone rang. _Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me? Don't cha. _I rolled my eyes and answered the call, pulling the phone to my ear.

"Hey babe," I murmured.

"Don't babe me, you bitch. Where the hell are you?" She growled on the other end. My smirked grew and I chuckled. Jake looked over at me, confused, before turning back to the road.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to notice I was gone," I murmured into the phone. Sometimes I think I have a little too much fun messing with people.

"Bella," she whined. I sighed. I hated it when she did that.

"Ren, trust me, you don't want to come here. It's a hell hole," I said. "No offense," I added on for Jake. He chuckled and shrugged.

"I don't care," she said, stubbornly. "I want to see you," she murmured. I knew there could be more than just one way to interpret what she just said. See, Ren was… well… it's complicated. I guess you could say she was my best friend. And off-and-on-again girlfriend. I pursed my lips, thinking whether or not it would be a good idea to tell her.

"Fine," I sighed, giving in. Ren was my weakness.

"Yes!" She squealed on the other end of the phone. I rolled my eyes.

"Here's the deal. There's a family here. Of you-know-what. Don't screw that up," I warned.

"Me? Screw anything up? Never!" She said, sounding giddy. I couldn't help but smile softly. I did sort of miss her. Jake pulled into the parking lot and my eyes immediately narrowed in on the Cullens, who were, again all standing by the red BMW convertible. "Now where are you?" I grabbed my bag.

"Hold on," I told her. "Thanks for the ride, Jake." Jacob smiled at me and nodded.

"You need me to pick you up?" He asked. I thought for a moment. Depending on where Ren was right now, she might be able to make it here before the end of the day. I shook my head to Jake.

"Nah, I'll text you if I do though," I told him. He nodded and his eyes looked past me for a moment before looking back.

"Good luck with them," he said as he nodded over to the family behind me. I murmured a thanks and shut the door, pulling the phone back to my ear.

"Still there?" I asked, pulling my bag onto my shoulder. Ren mumbled a 'yeah'. "Forks, Washington. I'm in Forks." She was quiet for a moment. I knew she would be. She knew about everything. Well she knew more than anyone else did. She knew that this was the place I was born. She also knew me, in general, very well and knew not to bring my past up.

"I'm assuming you're at school," she started, sounding a little off. I knew she was probably worried about me but I tried not to dwell on that.

"Mhhm," I mumbled, as I stood up straighter and started walking towards the Cullens. When I looked up, Alice was staring at me. Well her whole family was but my eyes met hers. I sent her a wink and she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'll be there after to pick you up," she told me, in her you-have-no-choice voice.

"Yes ma'am," I said smirking. By now I was standing by the Cullens. Mr. Mind-Reader opened his mouth to talk but I cut him off by holding my finger up. "Oh hey, do you have my bike?"

"Maybe," she murmured. I could just tell she was smirking.

"Please," I said, silently wishing that she didn't make me beg. I missed my bike.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll bring it. Have fun at school. Tell the vamps I said hi," she muttered. The Cullens stares turned to confused expressions. They didn't think I was the only one who knew, did they? "I'll see you later, okay? Love you."

"Yep. Bye," I said before I hung up. I noticed Alice's expression hardened and she glared at my phone for a moment before her brother spoke and she looked up.

"Would you care to explain what happened yesterday?" Edward asked, with his usual I'm-all-that attitude.

"Hmm… let's see. I came to school, got my schedule, purposefully walked into Emmett," I paused for a moment to make sure that I got his name right. When no one corrected me, I continued. "Walked to English with Alice, turned down Eric, walked to-" Edward cut me off.

"That's not what I meant," he snapped, sounding angry. Uh oh, did I upset the leech? My bad. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I know. Hence why I did it," I told him. That only seemed to make him angrier. He took a step forward, obviously trying to intimidate me. I raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"I suggest you answer my question the way I want it to be answered," he growled softly. I took a step towards him and he seemed shocked that I did. Yeah well get used to it. I'm not scared of you.

"Let's get one thing straight here. I don't do orders. I really don't think it's a good idea for you to threaten me. I know more things about you than you know about yourself," I warned. I was starting to get pissed and I knew I had to calm down. Edward's glare turned darker and Jasper put his hand on Edward's shoulder and he immediately calmed. Hmm… an empath? Haven't seen one of those before. Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"What did you mean by that?" Emmett asked. "By the you know more than we know thing?" Ah, Emmett, the curious one. I smirked.

"She's obviously bluffing. She doesn't know a thing," Rosalie murmured, challengingly. I turned to her.

"Really? Nineteen thirty-three ring a bell?" I asked her. I was glad I had brushed up on my knowledge of them from the journals I had at Charlie's. Rosalie looked shocked for a moment before shrugging.

"So? That's just a year," she commented. It wasn't just a year and she knew it. It was the year that she was turned. I really wished she wasn't the one doing this. She had one of the worst pasts of them all.

"Alright. Rosaline Lillian Hale," I started. "Born in Rochester, New York in nineteen-fifteen. Had two younger brothers, a housewife for a mother and a father who worked in a bank. One day your mother had you bring your father lunch at work and you met a man there. I think you know who I'm referring to. Would you like me to continue?" She was frozen, staring at the ground, like she was looking into the past. I knew that I may have taken it too far but they all needed to know that I had more on them than just what they were. Rosalie looked at me and shook her head weakly.

"No," she whispered, sounding defeated. I took a deep breath. My eyes met Alice's who looked at me with something that closely resembled sadness. She shook her head at me and looked back to her 'sister'. I shouldn't feel bad. I couldn't feel bad. So I held myself straight and turned on my heal, heading for English class. I didn't really care if I was early or not.

"That was mean," I heard a familiar voice from behind me. I stopped walking and pursed my lips for a moment. _I know_, I thought.

"You want to know what's mean? Killing people for their blood. I'd say that's pretty mean," I said, turning around to face Alice who was walking towards me.

"We don't do that. We dr-" She stopped as a group of girls walked passed us. "We drink animal blood," she finished when they were out of hearing range. I rolled my eyes.

"Like you haven't slipped up," I said, quietly. She was quiet for a moment before she changed the subject.

"Do you... umm… do you know about me?" She asked, quietly, looking at me with hope filled eyes. She didn't know about her past? I guess that was a good thing. I couldn't stand reading about what had happened to her.

"I might," I murmured.

"Bella," she said quietly. She reached out and placed her hand on my upper arm. A strange tingle feeling ran up my arm and I almost pulled away but I didn't want her to know that I felt it. "Please tell me." I looked down at her hand for a second before sighing as the bell rang. We were late. Instead of answering her, I turned and walked into the building and into class. I knew she was right behind me but she didn't say a word.

"Nice of you to join us Ms. Swan and Ms. Cullen," Mr. Mason said, annoyingly. We went to our seats and sat down. I could feel Alice staring a hole in the side of my head the entire class but I didn't acknowledge her. She didn't say anything during Government either.

My morning was quiet. Angela and I had talked about nothing in particular in Trig and Spanish. Things got rather interesting during lunch though. When Mike walked over to the table, I noticed the odd way he was looking at me. I furrowed my eyebrows and tried not to pay too much attention to his stare. Near the end of the lunch, I caught him giving a look to Eric who shook his head. Ah, I think I know what's going on here.

"So Bella," Mike started. Really? This again? "You busy Friday?"

"Mike," Eric said in a warning tone. I turned to him, wondering if he told Mike.

"What? Just because she shot you down doesn't mean she'll shoot me down," Mike explained.

"Ugh," Eric groaned. I could see Angela looking confused along with Jessica and Lauren, although Jessica looked slightly jealous that Mike was asking _me_ out and not her.

"Want to catch a movie or something?" Mike continued. I took a deep breath and looked at Eric, confused for a moment. He shrugged and looked down, guiltily. "Bella?" I turned back to Mike and caught Alice smirking, from her table as she watched with an amused expression. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm busy," I mumbled to Mike, hoping he would just drop it.

"Well what about Saturday? Or Sunday?" Mike continued. Did he not realize how desperate he sounds? I took a deep breath.

"You didn't tell anyone?" I asked Eric. Eric shrugged a little again and shook his head.

"I didn't… know if you… you know…" He muttered. I smiled. Aw, he didn't know if I had come out. I have got to set him and Angela up. They would be perfect together. They're both sweet and quiet. I chuckled and turned to Mike.

"I'm gay, Mike," I told him. Angela's eyebrows raised but she didn't say anything. Lauren looked disgusted and Jessica still looked jealous. Mike, on the other hand, looked completely shocked.

"W-what?" He stuttered. I chuckled again.

"Did you not hear me?" I asked him, knowing full well that he had heard me.

"No… I just… are you sure?" Mike asked. I raised an eyebrow at him. Was he serious?

"Uh yeah. I'm pretty damn sure."

"Well… like have you ever actually… you know… been with a guy?" He asked. Jessica slapped his shoulder and he gave her a what'd-I-do expression. I rolled my eyes.

"Let me ask you something. Have you ever been with a guy, Mike?" I asked him. His eyes widened.

"No! Of course not!"

"How do you know you're not gay then?" I asked him, getting bored.

"I just do," he argued, obviously not wanting anyone to think he was gay. I smirked.

"Exactly." I stood up and grabbed my bag. "Excuse me," I said as I walked away from the table.

"You're such an idiot Mike," I heard Angela say as I walked away.

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**A/N: So Ren=Renesmee... Just in case that wasn't obvious. :) **

**Please let me know what you think! And if any of you are interested in helping me out with this story.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews everyone! Sorry for the wait! Life's been busy! HUGE thanks to Emma Lee Rose for beta-ing!**

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**Chapter 5**

_**Bella's POV**_

I sat outside on one of the benches next to the cafeteria. I pulled my sketchbook out and opened to the page that I had drawn on yesterday. Why the hell did I draw Alice? I wasn't thinking. I just let myself draw and I ended up drawing this.

The way her nose was crunched up and her eyebrows furrowed as she looked pissed. It was cute. I sighed. _No, it wasn't_. Why the hell was I having these weird thoughts?

"What're you looking at?" I heard a familiar voice say. I jumped and slammed my sketch book closed as Alice sat down next to me on the bench.

"Nobody," I said at first, then realized what I had said. "Nothing!" She looked at me, slightly confused before turning so she wasn't facing me but facing forward and rested her head back against the wall behind us. I looked at her for a moment, noticing that she was wearing a pair of designer jeans that fit her legs perfectly and a tight fitting shirt. I swallowed and turned to look forward as well. Neither one of us said anything for a few minutes.

"Who were you talking to this morning?" Alice asked, quietly from next to me. I rolled my head over to look at her, keeping it on the wall behind me. She had leaned forward and was fidgeting with her hands in her lap. A vampire fidgeting? Never seen that before.

"You're going to be have to be more specific. I talked to a lot of people this morning," I told her. I had talked to Charlie, Jake, Ren, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, _you_.

"On the phone," she grumbled, obviously not happy that she had to say it. Ren? Why did she care who I was talking to one the phone? It was none of her freaking business. I was about to say that but stopped as she stood up abruptly. "You know what? Never mind." I kept my mouth shut as she stomped back inside the building. What was that about?

I stayed on the bench for a few more minutes before the bell rang. I sighed. I really did not feel like dealing with Edward in Biology today. As I stood up, I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out, seeing that I had a text message from Ren.

_Forks High, right? _I texted back a confirmation before walking back, preparing myself for my next period.

Edward wasn't in Biology. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing him at lunch. Maybe he ran home to his vampire mommy and daddy. Whatever. I was just glad I didn't have to deal with his shit anymore today.

Art was uneventful. Alice seemed as if she was giving me the cold shoulder. She was sitting in her seat when I walked in. I went over and sat next to her and she didn't spare a glance. Not that I cared. Because I didn't.

I had remembered that Mrs. Cullen wanted to see what I drew today so I focused and made sure I didn't make the same mistake as yesterday. When I showed her my finished drawing of a rocky cliff with roaring waves crashing against it, I watched her face for any sort of reaction. Her eyebrow twitched and her smile faltered for a second before she smiled at me softly.

"That's," she paused for a moment. "That's nice, honey. Good job shading." She swallowed before turning back to the papers on her desk, looking as if she was busy but I knew better.

"Can I talk to you?" I heard from behind me. I turned around and saw Alice watching me, cautiously. I nodded slowly, wondering what this could be about. She turned and walked out of the classroom. I followed her, keeping a safe distance while trying to keep my eyes in an appropriate place. It was just too easy to glance down and see the way her jeans hugged her curves. I shook my head and looked around the parking lot as we walked along the sidewalk. Ren wasn't here yet. And if I knew Ren, and I think I do, she'd be making quite an entrance.  
Alice stopped suddenly and turned around to face me. "My family wants to meet you," she said, quickly. It almost sounded like she was nervous.

"Why they hell do they want to meet me?" I asked, confused. Besides, I thought I had met most of her family. Alice sighed.

"My father," she paused for a moment. "I don't know. He wants to talk to you. Could you come to my house this afternoo-" I cut her off.

"Hmm, hanging out in a house full of vampires? Not really what I enjoy doing in my free time. I think I'll pass," I murmured, sarcasm dripping from every word. She opened her mouth to respond but stopped at the sound of a roaring engine that had just pulled into the parking lot. I turned my head to see the very familiar sight of my Harley Davidson Super Glide Custom bike flying into the parking lot along with the very familiar looking body riding it.

I sighed as I let my eyes roam over my bike, from the stainless steel handlebars to the blood red paint job. Ironic, I know. The back wheel spun, turning the bike slightly towards us, sending smoke into the air, as Ren slammed on the brake. I couldn't help the smirk as she pulled the helmet off of her head. I heard the murmurs from the students around me, wondering who's bike it was, who this girl was, and why she was looking at me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk spreading across her lips. She shut the bike off and pulled her leg over the side of it, so she was standing in front of Alice and I. She shook her head, letting her long, bronze curls whip around, almost as if in slow motion. This only made my smirk grow, hers as well. We both knew exactly what had to be going on in all these teenage boys' minds.

Hot girl plus hot bike equals very, very interested hormonal teenagers.

"Damn my baby looks good," I winked. Ren playfully pouted as she strode up to me.

"I really hope you're talking about me and not the stupid piece of metal," she murmured, her eyebrow raising slightly before she broke out into a smile. I chuckled as she wrapped her right arm around my shoulders and leaned into me for a hug, her face in my neck. "I missed you," she whispered against the skin of my neck. I swallowed and pulled back at the sound of someone clearing their throat obnoxiously. I turned to see Alice still standing next to me, looking annoyed. Her eyes flickered to Ren and they darkened into a glare before settling back to being annoyed as she looked at me.

"Right. Meeting," I thought for a moment, trying to ignore Ren as she pulled my right arm around her waist and the way Alice's jaw tightened slightly. "Sure. I'll meet Daddy Vamp," I said quietly, so no one around me would hear. Alice's eyes flickered around us, making sure. "But there is no way in hell I'm going to your house. If we're gonna do this, we're doing this in public." I turned to Ren and she looked up at me with her chocolate brown eyes full of curiosity. Just then an idea occurred to me. If Alice's family wants to meet me, I'll bring a family of my own. I smirked and Ren furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you think about going out for dinner?" I asked her. She nodded, still looking slightly confused. I turned back to Alice.

"There's a restaurant in Port Angeles called La Bella Italia," I paused and Alice nodded slowly.

"We'll be there at seven." Alice's eyes narrowed slightly when I said 'we' but other than that her face stayed neutral.

"We'll be there," she mumbled, nodding again. I watched her for a moment longer before turning to Ren.

"C'mon," I nodded towards the bike. She smiled and followed me, swinging her leg over so she was sitting behind me before wrapping her arms around my stomach. I slid the helmet on. I hated the helmet really. I'd much rather let the wind blow through my hair but Ren always made me wear it. Last time I didn't, she gave me this lecture for an hour. I started the engine and just reveled in the feeling of my bike purring to life. God, I love this thing. I could feel the other students' and Alice's eyes still on me. I ignored them and pulled out of the parking lot.  
On the ride back to my house, I could feel Ren nuzzling her face into my back every now and again and how her arms would tighten around my stomach every time we turn around a corner. She never liked when the bike would turn. She always thought she was going to get thrown off. It doesn't occur to her that it's going to take more than a few scrapes to really injure us.

I pulled into the driveway of Charlie's house and cut the engine. Charlie's cruiser wasn't here, which was a good thing. For some reason, I felt like he'd flip out when he saw my bike. I pulled out my phone, dialing Jacob. He answered on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's me. You doing anything tonight?" I asked, hoping he wasn't.

"Why? You asking me out? My, my Bella, I thought you played for the other team but-" I cut him off. I knew he was joking, but still.

"Shut the hell up, don't flatter yourself and answer my question," I demanded. By now Ren was off the bike and looked at me, confused again. I heard him laugh on the other end of the phone. I rolled my eyes and set the helmet on the handlebars of the bike and started for the door. Ren followed.

"Nah, I'm not busy. Why?" he asked.

"How soon can you be at my house?" I asked him. He hummed for a second, thinking.

"Uhh… like ten minutes?"

"Good. See you in ten, then," I said and hung up. I turned the light on, once I had walked into the house and ran up the steps towards my room.

"Slow down," Ren whined as she followed me into my room. She looked around for a moment before looking at me. "This isn't exactly what I expected your room to be like." I chuckled and looked around at the purple sheets that Charlie had gotten me. The room was mostly purple and quite girly to be honest, which was definitely not me at all and Ren realized this. I shrugged. "Do you want to explain what's going on?" I took a deep breath and flopped down on my bed. She looked at me for a few seconds before lying down next to me and turning her head to see my face. I stared up at the ceiling and pursed my lips.

"It's a long story," I murmured.

"We got time," she replied.

"We have ten minutes before Jake comes," I said, pulling my arm behind my head. Ren sighed.

"Then you better stop stalling, huh?"

A loud knock on the door stopped our conversation. A confused expression crossed over Ren's face and I pulled myself up, off the bed.

"I'll get it," I mumbled and hopped down the stairs. I pulled the door open and there stood Jake, who was currently gawking at my bike in the driveway. I chuckled and he turned his head to me and then back to the bike.

"That's," he swallowed. "_That's_ your bike?"

"Yep. You like it?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Hell yeah. It's," he paused for a moment, and sighed. I smiled and nodded.

"I know," I said, smirking.

"God! It's just a stupid, useless piece of metal with an engine and a seat!" Ren called as she came down the stairs. I stood to the side and looked over to her before laughing.

"You're just jealous," I murmured with a smirk. She rolled her eyes at me and looked over at Jake. I turned back and noticed how he was staring at Ren with his mouth open. It looked as if he had stopped breathing. It sort of resembled the way I pictured how a vampire would look like when they mated. Shit! "Can I talk to you for a second?" I asked, my smirk gone as I pushed Jacob back outside and shut the door, leaving Ren inside. Once the door was shut, I shoved Jake off the front steps to the house. "What. The. Hell. Did you just do?" I practically growled at him as he stumbled to maintain his balance.

He blinked a few times and looked at me, confused. He shook his head a few times. "I… I don't…"

"You don't what, Jake? I don't have all day," I snapped at him. He took a deep breath.

"I don't know how to explain it," he mumbled quietly. I guess my expression made him continue. "It… It's called imprinting and-" I cut him off.

"Shit Jake," I groaned.

"It's fine! I don't have to tell her-" He started and I cut him off again.

"Good. 'Cuz you're not going to." I spun around and walked back into the house. Ren gave me a funny look but shrugged and walked into the kitchen. I watched her pour a glass of water. She turned around with it in her hand and looked at me, expecting something.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" She asked, nodding in Jake's direction as he walked into the kitchen behind me. He smiled softly at her and looked down when he noticed the glare I was sending him.

"Sure. Ren, this is Jake. Jake, this is R-" He cut me off.

"It's nice to meet you Ren," he said, smiling happily behind me. I smirked, knowing what was coming next.

"Don't call me that," Ren snapped. Jake frowned and looked confused for a moment. "Only she can call me that," she added, nodding to me. I chuckled quietly and watched her walk towards Jake. She stuck her hand out. "Renesmee." Jake shook her hand.

"Jake," he said, with a twitch of his lips into a tiny smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Well let's go! I wanna get something to eat before I lose my appetite when the vamps show up!"

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**A/N: Some people were worried about the whole Ren/Bella relationship: Don't worry! This is a Bella/Alice fic so the Ren/Bella thing won't last too long. Also, I have a feeling a few people will be pretty mad at Bella for making Jake keep quiet about the imprint, but remember she's got a lot going on right now. **

**Everything will work out! That's all I'm going to say. :)**

**Next chapter: The meeting with the Cullens and Bella makes a big mistake**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here's a new chapter! Thanks so much for the reviews, alerts, and favorites! I really appreciate them! Thanks so much to Emma Lee Rose!**

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**Chapter 6**

_**Bella's POV**_

"So remind me, why do the leeches want to meet with you?" Jake asked, annoyingly as he slid into the booth at the restaurant, La Bella Italia.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" I snapped. I admit it, I was a bit on edge. I mean, I was in a dimly lit, basically empty restaurant awaiting a family of vampires. Not exactly my cup of tea, if you know what I mean. I let Ren slide into the booth, on the opposite side of Jake, before sliding in after her. She gave me a small smile. I took a short, annoyed, breath and she gently grabbed my hand under the table.

"Calm down," she whispered. I didn't respond. I just watched her hand as she started playing with my fingers.

A woman in her thirties with short black hair and a few piercings and tattoos walked over to our table.

"Hello, I'm Amber, I'll be your waitress for the evening…" She went on but I blocked her out. I paid more attention to the sound of the door opening as a young, pale man with blond hair walked slowly into the restaurant, holding the door open. I nudged Ren who immediately got the point and told our waitress that we need some time to look at the menu. Amber looked a little confused but walked away nonetheless. In that short period of time, three more vampires walked into the restaurant. Mrs. Cullen followed the blond man, who I assumed was their coven leader. Alice followed behind Mrs. Cullen with a very thoughtful expression. Edward followed her, looking quite frustrated and upset. I had to stop myself from scoffing. The others followed after as the leader started walking towards our table. Alice's eyes met mine and her lips twitched. I couldn't help the wink I sent her and she sighed, frustrated, and looked away. I chuckled and turned back to Jake and Ren.

"And let the game begin," I stated. Renesmee rolled her eyes and leaned back into the seat. Jake sat up straighter and I shot him a look. He nodded, understandingly. I didn't need him flipping out at them. Not yet at least.

The man reached our table, his wife standing to his left, Edward on his right and Alice standing next to her mother, closest to me. The others stood behind the four of them.

"Bella Swan, I've heard quite a lot about you. I'm Carlisle Cullen. I know that you have met most of my family but I thought that it is only appropriate for a formal introduction," he explained, a slight British accent falling into his voice. I didn't respond. I just stared at him and after a few seconds, he continued. "Yes, well, like I mentioned before, my name is Carlisle. This is my wife, Esme. You know her as your art teacher. My son, Edward, is a mind-reader. He has told me that you know of this already." He stopped talking and looked at me, as if for an explanation. I gave in.

"I hate to break it to you, _Carlisle_, but your son is quite full of himself. I think the main reason he dislikes me so much is because, for once, he doesn't have the advantage of reading my mind and he seems to have become too reliant on his _ability," _I sneered, internally smirking at the anger that flashed across Edward's face.

"Bella," Ren whispered, quietly warning me. I shot a glance at her and back to the family in front of me.

"He's not the only one with an ability either," I continued. I nodded in Jasper's direction.

"Empath." I nodded to Emmett. "Strength. Although that's quite obvious." Rosalie glared at me. Did she seriously think I was checking out her mate? I rolled my eyes. "Beauty. Vain beauty but beauty." I think I covered most of them. Carlisle was looking at me curiously.

"Interesting," he murmured.

"What? Did I miss one?" I asked, rhetorically. Carlisle hummed and his eyes flashed to Alice. I turned and caught her glaring at my lap, where Ren was holding my hand, before she met my eyes.

"Uh future. I can see the future," she said quietly.

"Subjectively," I added. She pursed her lips and nodded slightly.

"Yes," Carlisle muttered again. "Quite interesting." I broke away from Alice and looked at the coven leader. Carlisle hummed again for a moment before turning to his other family members. "You are correct in that Jasper is an empath. Rosalie has brought her beauty with her into this life and Emmett has kept his strength." It was then, I noticed an older woman, not in appearance but in vampire years. She was standing right next to Jasper, almost leaning into him. _His mate_, I thought. I hadn't seen her at school though. She had dark brown, curly hair that was pulled over one shoulder. She was looking at me so closely that it made my skin crawl. "And this is Nettie, Jasper's ma-" Nettie opened her mouth and cut Carlisle off.

"What are you?" She asked, bluntly. All of the other vampires turned to her, looking surprised and confused. She kept her eyes on my and tilted her head to the side. I felt my lips turn up into a smirk. _Finally_, I thought.

"Took you long enough," I murmured, smirking. I saw Ren roll her eyes again. The vampires turned to me and back to Nettie. The only person who's head didn't move back and forth about a hundred times was Alice, who turned to me, with her eyebrows furrowed. The Cullens all finally looked at me, waiting for an explanation. My smirk grew. "That's for me to know and you to dot dot dot."

"Seriously?" Ren asked me, a smile on her face. I turned to her and chuckled. "You do know that you just quoted a vampire, right?"

"Yeah but a TV vampire, so it doesn't count," I told her. She looked at me for a moment, amusement clearly in her eyes and shook her head.

"You know what we are, I only think it's fair for you to inform us of what you are," Carlisle explained.

"Yeah," Emmett spoke up. "How are we supposed to know _you're_ not a threat to us?"

"You don't," I answered simply. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes. I felt most everyone's eyes on me.

"Anyway, the real reason I wanted to meet you in person was for a formal introduction and to explain to you that my family and I mean no harm," Carlisle told us, seriously. I heard Ren scoff next to me.

"Yeah okay," she mumbled, sarcastically. I caught Alice's glare at her.

"And who are you?" Alice snapped. I raised an eyebrow, while I watched their interaction. I turned to Ren and watched her fake a smile as she dramatically pulled my arm around her shoulders and leaned up against me.

"I'm Bella's girlfriend," she said sickly sweet. I pursed my lips and looked at her confused for a moment. Why was she acting like this? I mean, if she wants us to be back on, from our on-and-off again relationship, that's fine but why is she acting so dramatic right now? I turned and was even more surprised at the dark expression on Alice's face. She looked even more pissed off than I had made her before. She was glaring at Ren and growling softly. Ren had nuzzled her face into my neck and I felt her smirk against my skin. What the hell was going on? I made a mental note to talk to Ren about this later. I watched as Jasper took a step towards Alice and placed his hand on her shoulder. Alice jerked his arm off. Her eyes met mine, she glared, and spun around, stomping out of the restaurant. Rosalie followed after her a second later. I watched as she stormed out of the restaurant and slammed the door behind her. Well, someone's got anger issues.

I turned back to the Cullens standing in front of me to see Edward glaring at Ren darkly. I opened my mouth to tell him to back off but Jake beat me to it.

"What are you staring at, bloodsucker?" Jake growled. I kicked him under the table. If he had spoken any louder, I'm sure the other people in the restaurant could have overheard. His eyes snapped to mine, glaring before falling on Ren and softening. I rolled my eyes. I heard Edward trying to keep his anger under control and his growls quiet. I watched Carlisle place a hand on Edward's shoulder.

"I think it's best if we leave now," he said, calmly. I had to admit, he seemed to stay pretty calm through this whole scene. He looked at me. "You know what I came here to tell you. We don't want any trouble. We hope that you feel the same way." With that said, he nodded once to me and turned around, walking out of the restaurant with his family close behind.

"Glad that's over," I heard Ren say as she moved back away from me, onto her side of the seat. The table jolted and Jake shifted.

"Sorry!" Ren exclaimed. I guess she hit his leg or something as she was moving over. She laughed a bit and Jake smiled.

"You have a really nice laugh," he said quietly. _Oh god_, I thought. Ren smiled and tilted her head. They were both quiet for a minute and our waitress came back and asked us if we were ready to order. We picked something off the menu each and waited until she was gone.

"So is that," Ren nodded at Jake's arm with his tattoo, "some sort of sexy werewolf thing?" She asked. I raised an eyebrow and looked at her. What the hell was she doing? Jake's lips twitched.

"I guess you could say that," he said. Jake sat up and leaned towards the table a bit more.  
I forced myself not to groan as the flirting continued. At one point, I literally had to bite my tongue to stop myself from telling them to get a room already. I had my fists clenched under the table as I listened to their conversation. When the food finally came, I was so relieved. After what felt like hours of watching Ren smirk and Jake compliment her, we paid the check and drove home.

Jake had driven us to Port Angeles so he drove us home which meant another hour of torture as I sat in the back seat and watched Ren and Jake continue to shamelessly flirt. We pulled up into my driveway at about nine-thirty and I was the first one out of the car. I watched Jake say something to Ren before she thought for a moment and nodded, smiling. She opened the door and hopped out.

"I'll see you tomorrow then! Thanks for the ride," she said. I rolled my eyes and started up the front steps. I pulled the door open and walked into the kitchen. Charlie didn't seem to be here and I saw the voice-message machine blinking so I pressed the button for it to play the message. I heard Ren close the door and then walk up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Hey Bells, it's Charlie," the machine played, "I won't be home until late. We're busy at the station; there's a missing person's report up in Seattle. I'm hoping I'll be home by eleven. Don't go to bed too late, uh, you have school tomorrow. Um bye," the message ended with a beep. I sighed as I felt Ren nuzzle her face into the back of my neck and I grabbed her arms, pushing her off me before spinning around. She looked up at me, confused.

"So you're meeting with Jake tomorrow?" I asked, trying to calm myself down. Ren raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. He just wants to explain some more about werewolves to me and-" She stopped and looked at me for a moment before her lips twitched up into a smirk. "You're not seriously jealous."

"No! I'm not jealous!" I snapped. Ren raised her eyebrow again and her smirk grew.

"Really? Cuz it sounds like you are," she said, her voice dropping its tone as she took a step towards me. I took a step back and tilted my head.

"I am _not_ jealous," I told her. "And what the hell was that whole "I'm her girlfriend" crap at the restaurant?!"

"What?" Ren asked, stepping towards me again. I backed up against the counter. "I am." I rolled my eyes.

"That's not what I meant and you know-" She cut me off.

"You don't want me to be your girlfriend again?" She asked, finally reaching me and pushing her body up against mine.

"That's not…" I trailed off.

"That's not what Bella? It's a yes or no question. Or do you have someone else on your mind besides me?" She asked me. Who else would I have on my mind? What is she playing at?

"No, that's-" I was cut off again but this time it was from her lips crashing against mine. I sighed into the kiss and she smiled against my lips. When we broke apart for air, she trailed her lips down my throat. I swallowed and let my eyes shut as I wrapped my hand in her hair. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to wrap my hand in a girl's short hair. A girl like Alice. Wait, what? I shook my head and groaned at that thought. Ren misinterpreted my groan for pleasure and smiled into my neck. She gave a chaste kiss to the right side of my neck, right below my jaw before biting my skin, not so softly. I felt my eyes roll in the back of my head and I obviously lost control of my brain because what I said next scared the living shit out of me.

"Alice," I moaned. My eyes snapped open at about the same time that Ren froze.

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**A/N: Please review and let me know what you think! **

**Next chapter: Esme and Alice have a chat and drama ensues between Ren and Bella!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: SORRY! I know it's been a while! Life's been pretty busy so I apologize that this took so long to get out! As always, thanks to Emma Lee Rose!**

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Last Time:

_"No, that's-" I was cut off again but this time it was from her lips crashing against mine. I sighed into the kiss and she smiled against my lips. When we broke apart for air, she trailed her lips down my throat. I swallowed and let my eyes shut as I wrapped my hand in her hair. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to wrap my hand in a girl's short hair. A girl like Alice. Wait, what? I shook my head and groaned at that thought. Ren misinterpreted my groan for pleasure and smiled into my neck. She gave a chaste kiss to the right side of my neck, right below my jaw before biting my skin, not so softly. I felt my eyes roll in the back of my head and I obviously lost control of my brain because what I said next scared the living shit out of me._

_"Alice," I moaned. My eyes snapped open at about the same time that Ren froze._

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**Chapter 7 **

_**Alice's POV**_

My family went straight home after meeting with Bella and her _girlfriend_. The second we were all back in the house, Edward starting going off on one of his tangents.

"She basically stated that she's a threat. I'm not about to risk our family being exposed," he growled. I stopped walking and glared at him, feeling a snarl rip through my throat.

"Edward, if you so much as plan to touch her I-" I stopped myself. What the hell was that? Why was I defending Bella? I didn't care what happened to her. Edward looked at me, completely confused. He opened his mouth and I knew he was about to ask a very similar question to the ones going through my head that I had no answer to so I ran up the stairs to my room, and slammed the door shut. I collapsed on my bed and closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose.

Although the other beds in this house were used… differently, I liked the soft surface. Oddly, it felt comforting to me to lie on the soft sheets. I liked the smell of freshly washed bedding. My siblings found it amusing but I didn't really care.

There was a soft knock at my door and I instantly knew that it was my mother, Esme. I sighed and looked towards the door.

"Come in," I whispered. My mother peeked her head through the door, smiled softly when she saw me, and walked in, shutting the door quietly behind her. She walked over to my bed and sat on the edge of it before gently running her hand through my hair.

"Are you alright, honey?" She asked me quietly. I shrugged. I didn't know the answer to that question. She smiled sympathetically and was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "They won't really hurt her. You know your brother. He's just trying to protect us." I sighed and nodded. Neither one of us talked for about five minutes. My mom looked around the room while my mind was going a million miles a minute. I snapped out of it when my mom took my hand in between hers to get my attention. I looked up at her. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" She asked me. I was about to tell her "of course" but I stopped. I thought for a moment, wondering if I should actually tell her what I was thinking right now. She has always been there for me. I didn't remember my human life but I think even if I did, I would still consider her my mother. I took a deep breath and went for it.

"I'm confused," I told her. Her lips twitched but she waited for me to go on. "I just… I don't know. She confuses me." Esme let me continue. "I means she's so… infuriating. Whenever I try to have a serious conversation she makes a joke out of it. And whenever I try to get answers, she just gives me more questions. And that stupid smirk. And wink. And…" I trailed off, groaning as I sat up and leaned into my mom. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me into an embrace.

"Shh," she murmured, stroking my hair. We were both sitting quietly for a few minutes before she spoke up again. "Alice, don't take this the wrong way or be upset with me but… I've seen the way you look at Bella. I've seen how you act around her and the way you talk about her. Do you think… have you considered that Bella might be… your mate?"

I immediately pulled away from my mom and looked up at her sincere eyes. Bella? My mate?

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_**Bella's POV**_

Ren slowly pulled away from my neck and her eyes met mine. _Shit_. She is pissed. I swallowed nervously.

"Ren," I started, slowly, prepared to apologize. She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh so you do know my name," she practically growled. "Would you like to explain to me why you _moaned_ the wrong one then?" This made me angry. Who was she to be upset about this when I just had to endure more than an hour of watching her flirt with Jacob?!

"You're honestly mad right now?" I argued, raising my voice. She took a step backwards as I took one forwards, away from the counter. "_I_ had to sit through a whole dinner of watching you and Jake blatantly flirt. _I _had to sit through more flirting the whole ride home! I mean for god's sake, why don't you just go jump in bed with him?!" I yelled. I watched her clench her jaw as I spoke. Her soft chocolate brown eyes turned to a darker brown.

"Well everything's about you, isn't it Bella?!" She yelled back at me "The world revolves around you! Excuse me for not bowing down and worshiping every freaking word that comes out of your mouth!" After she finished yelling she shoved her hands into my chest, causing me to step backwards as she stormed out of the house, leaving the door wide open. I felt my entire body tensing as my anger rose. I couldn't stop myself from grabbing the dirty glass, next to the sink, and hurling it at the front door, watching it smash into dozens of pieces. I stalked outside towards Ren. I saw her walking in the direction of the woods and I ran up to her, grabbing her wrist to make her stop.

"Don't walk away from me!" I yelled. She spun around and looked at me with dark, angry eyes. She tried to get her wrist free but I didn't let go.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't!" She yelled back. She gave up on getting her wrist free and shoved herself into me again. I held my ground and instead of falling back, I pushed her up against the closest tree, leaning into her face. We both glared at each other for a few minutes, not daring to say a word. My eyes dropped down to Ren's lips and I couldn't help but lick my bottom lip. Ren noticed as her eyes dropped and met mine a few seconds later. I leaned towards her a few inches and she raised an eyebrow, a look of confusion spreading over her face before I pressed my lips against hers again. She didn't respond at first so I pushed myself up against her, effectively trapping her between me and the tree. I had to show her that my slip up before meant nothing. Ren shook her head, forcing me to stop kissing her. I sighed and looked up, confused.

"I-I can't," she stuttered, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, you can," I muttered before leaning down and trailing kisses across her collarbone. I felt her sigh. "You love me," I stated. With that, I expected her either agree with me or kiss me back but what I got was silence. Worried, I pulled away and looked into Ren's soft brown eyes.

"I-I don't know anymore," she whispered.

"What do you mean you don't know anymore?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from showing the anger and confusion that was flowing through me. I took a step back from Ren and her eyes softened even more.

"Maybe," she started and took a deep breath before continuing. "Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that you called out _her_ name, Bella."

What did she mean by that? I _do not_ have feelings for Alice. Other than the usual hatred I have for what she is. I took a few steps backwards again. With each step, Ren's eyes softened to almost pity. I spun around and walked in the direction of the house.

"Bella!" Ren called out. I could hear her following me. I stopped walking and stood still, facing away from her. I felt her come up behind me. She stopped walking but didn't dare touch me. "I still love you. I just… not in the same way."

"Because of Jake?" I accused. I heard her sigh loudly.

"Don't act like you love me the same way either! I can see you don't. Last time I checked, you were the one thinking of someone else during that kiss." I spun around and glared at her.

"And I'm sorry for that-" Ren cut me off.

"I don't want an apology Bella!" She yelled. I was starting to get mad again.

"Well what do you want then?!" I yelled back.

"For you to open up your eyes!" She shouted. "Maybe we're not supposed to be together!"

"That annoying spiky haired girl? Not my type," I stated, glaring at Ren. Ren closed the gap between us and pointed out her index finger, poking my chest, accusingly.

"So you're going to stand there, look me in the eyes, and tell me that you have zero interest in her?"

"I. Have. Zero. Interest. In. Her," I stated, emphasizing every word.

"How can you do that?" Ren asked, her voice breaking.

"Do wha-" She cut me off again.

"After everything we've been through. How can you stand there and lie to my face?"

"I didn't-"

"Stop it!" She yelled, throwing her hands up in the air like she's given up. "I've seen the way you look at her and the way she got jealous when I was I told her I was your girlfriend at dinner and when we drove away from school this afternoon! She obviously has feelings for you! I like to think I know you enough to see that you somehow share those-" This time I cut her off.

"Oh! So you and Jake have nothing to do with this?!" I yelled, trying to change the subject back to her. I really didn't like where she was going. I could never and would never have feelings for a damn bloodsucker.

"Jake-" She stopped herself. "Stop changing the subject!"

Ren and I were so immersed in our argument that we both missed the headlights of Charlie's cruiser as he pulled up in the driveway. We missed the slamming of the door as he got out of the car. We only realized he was there when he spoke.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He shouted with authority, going into police mode. "What's going on here?" He asked, while stepping in between Ren and I, forcing us to stop our fighting. Neither one of us answered his question as he glanced around between the two of us.

"What's going on? Who are you? And what the hell is that death trap doing on my driveway?"

I guess Charlie doesn't like motorcycles.

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**A/N: Hope you liked it! What do you think? Is Bella Alice's mate? Do Bella and Ren belong together?** _**Please review!**_

**Next Time: Renesmee and Jake have a talk**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: What's this? Another update! Sorry it took so long. It's getting hard to find time to write. Anyway, thank yo to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter! I got some really great reviews that made me want to write a lot more! Special thanks to Emma Lee Rose! This chapter's a little different since it's in Ren's POV. I just wanted you all to know how she was feeling about everything. Enjoy!  
**

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**Chapter 8**

_**Renesmee's POV**_

I sat in the driver's seat of Bella's old, red pick-up truck as I drove her to school. We hadn't spoken much since our argument last night. I still slept in her room but she barely acknowledged me. An awkward silence had fallen over the cab of the truck and I sighed, deciding to try and break it.

"Are you still mad at me?" I asked, looking over at Bella, who was sitting straight up in her seat, staring out the windshield, her lips in a straight line. She turned and caught my eyes and I pouted, hoping that it would have some sort of effect on her. She rolled her eyes and looked back out the windshield. I turned back and tried to push the truck a little faster. I tried to change the subject, hoping it might work. "I don't think Charlie likes me very much."

"Yeah, well, you didn't exactly give him a great first impression," Bella mumbled. I felt my lips twitch up into a small smile. At least she was talking to me again. I replied, without thinking of what I was saying.

"He looks just like your da-" Bella cut me off.

"They were twins, Renesmee," she muttered, using my full name, warning me to drop the subject. I felt my smile deflate as we pulled onto the road of Forks High School. I looked over at her as she raised a shaky hand and ran it through her hair.

"Are you sure you're okay to go today?" I asked, worried. She seemed really tense.

"I'm fine," she stated.

"Well you're shaking, you're incredibly tense, and your eyes are dar-" She cut me off again.

"I said I'm fine," she stated, stronger than last time. I sighed and gave up. I pulled into the high school parking lot a few minutes later and pulled around to a place where Bella could get out. She grasped the handle of the door but I grabbed her other wrist before she could get out. I put the car in park and turned towards her, grabbing her face in between my hands and forcing her to look at me. Her eyes met mine and after a few moments, she relaxed a bit and her eyes softened slightly. I leaned forward and rested my forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, quietly. Her eyes shut and she nodded. She took a deep breath and I felt it blow against my skin. We stayed like this for a few seconds. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed Alice standing on the sidewalk across from where the truck was parking, glaring through the window, with her fists clenched. I rolled my eyes and leaned toward Bella, planting a chaste kiss on the corner of her mouth. Her eyes opened instantly, confused. I smiled a bit at her and saw Alice spin around and stomp in the direction of a building. "I'll pick you up later, okay?" She nodded.

"Tell Jake I said hi," she said quietly. I smiled and nodded before letting her face go and watching her lips twitch into a small smile before she climbed out of the truck. I watched her walk up to the sidewalk before I started the truck up again and pulled out of the parking lot. It wasn't a very long drive to La Push. Before I really knew it, I was driving past smaller looking houses. It was then I realized that I didn't actually know which house Jake's was. I sighed, frustrated and decided to keep driving until I found someone that I could ask.

As I was driving my thoughts drifted to Jacob. I had heard him arguing with Bella yesterday before we went to the restaurant and I wondered what that was about. I made a mental note to ask him about that today. He seemed like a really nice person and ever since I'd met him, I couldn't stop thinking about him. I couldn't stop thinking about his boyish features like his short black hair that framed his tan face perfectly. My eyes were drawn to the dark ink on the side of his arm, making me notice how muscular he actually was. I know, from discussions with Bella about shape-shifters and he fit the profile for one flawlessly.

I was brought out of my thoughts at the sudden realization of someone directly in front of the truck. I slammed on the brakes and the engine groaned. The truck stopped in time and I sighed, relieved before finally seeing who it was.

"Jesus Jacob!" I shouted, getting out of the truck and slamming the door as I walked up to him and punched his shoulder playfully. "Don't do that!" He smiled, letting his dimples show and I rolled my eyes.

"Sorry gorgeous," he murmured. I smiled. "So, uh, where's Bella?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck, nervously.

"You invited me to come hang out with you and you want to talk about Bella?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"No! That's not…" He trailed off. "I was just wondering, you know, how is she?" I sighed and shrugged.

"I," I stopped myself. "I dunno Jacob. Maybe I should go ask her," I told him, turning around, ready to get back into the truck. I was stupid to think he wanted to actually hang out with just me.

"No!" He yelled and grabbed my wrist. I stopped moving and he slid his hand down to hold mine, before tugging on my hand, forcing me to turn around and face him. "Don't go. I'm sorry." I looked at him for a moment and sighed, giving in. For some reason, I couldn't just walk away from him. He smiled and nodded to the side while talking my hand. We started walking down the road. "It's just… well… Bella's not very happy with me right now…" Jake trailed off.

"Yeah join the club," I mumbled, without thinking. Jake turned to me and rose an eyebrow.

"What did you do?" Jake asked. I bit my lip and wondered if I should answer him. In the distance, I noticed a parking lot and then water further on. We continued to walk towards it.

"You first," I murmured. Jake suddenly looked nervous. He thought for a second and looked over at me.

"Ladies first," he said, sounding unsure. I rolled my eyes.

"I dunno. She's just mad cuz I may have told her that I'm not sure that we're supposed to be together anymore," I said quietly. Jake perked up again.

"Why do you umm… why do you feel like that?" He asked. I was quiet for a little bit as we got closer to the parking lot and I recognized the sand on the other side and realized it was a small beach.

"I'm not sure… I just feel like things have change, you know?" Jake nodded slowly.

"Okay! Your turn!" I sang. By now we had reached the sand and I had forgotten how much I loved the feeling of sand underneath my feet. Jake sighed and rubbed his neck again.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this," he said, sounding worried. I stopped walking and furrowed my eyebrows.

"What?" I asked, confused. Jake stood in front of me and looked into my eyes.

"Bella's mad at me-"

"Yeah, I gathered that, Jake," I cut him off.

"I shouldn't-"

"You shouldn't or you won't, Jacob?" I asked, getting annoyed now. Why does Bella get to have such a huge say in my life? Jake stopped for a moment and looked out at the water. "Jake," I murmured.

"There's this thing… shape-shifters do," he started. I waited for him to continue. "You know how vampires mate?" He asked. I nodded, slowly, not liking where this was going. "Well shape-shifters sort of do the same thi-"

"Are you telling me that you've mated on Bella?" I snapped, jealously.

"No! Of course not. And it's called imprinting and-"

"So you imprinted on Bella, very nice Jake. I think I'm gonna go," I snapped again as I turned around and started walking towards the parking lot.

"No! Renesmee! Wait!" Jake called after me. I heard him following me but I didn't stop or turn around.

"Why should I Jacob?!" I shouted back.

"Because…" He trailed off and I rolled my eyes. "Because it's you! I imprinted on you!" I froze. He imprinted on me? Not Bella? So I just made a fool of myself yelling at him? _Awesome_.

"What?" I asked. I watched Jake walk in front of me and he looked into my eyes like no one's ever done before.

"I imprinted on you," he said slowly, nervously.

"Not Bella?"

"Not Bella, Renesmee. You," he whispered and cupped my cheek with his large, warm hand. I swallowed as he leaned towards me. His warm, minty breath blew against my face and I leaned into him. Right before our lips touched the annoying ringtone of my phone went off. I groaned and pulled away from Jake, yanking my phone out of my pocket. I noticed the caller ID: Bella. I flipped the phone open.

"Bella, this better be important," I growled into the phone.

"It's Alice," I heard a familiar voice say on the other line. "And it is important. How soon can you get to the school?"

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**A/N: Hope you liked it! We're getting closer and closer to finding out what Ren and Bella are... any ideas?**  
**PLEASE review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Especially since I left the last chapter on a pretty big cliffy... I hope this chapter makes up for it somewhat... More and more hints at what Bella and Ren are in this chapter... some of your guesses where actually pretty close. I hope I'm not making it too obvious. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! I hit over 100 with the last chapter which is beyond awesome! Big thanks to Emma Lee Rose! Hope you all like the chapter!**

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**Chapter 9**

_**Bella's POV**_

The morning went by slowly and was rather uneventful. Alice gave me the cold shoulder all morning. She didn't talk to me once. She barely even looked at me. For some reason that bothered me but I forced those thoughts away. I do not have feelings for her, I chanted in my head.

_I do not._

_I do not._

_I do._

_Wait! I do not! Damn it._

I need to get out of my head. I'm freaking myself out with how much I'm thinking about her. There is no way that I have feelings for her or that she has feelings for me, right? I mean if she had feelings for me, then I'd be her mate which is ridiculous. There is no way in hell that I am her mate.

Right?

Why is this so freaking hard?! I. Am. Not. Her. Mate. I hate vampires. I could never be a vampire's mate.

I groaned and set my head on my desk during Spanish. I _need_ to stop thinking so hard about this. Renesmee was right; I shouldn't have come to school today. I'm still too riled up from yesterday's argument with her.

"Bella, are you okay?" Angela whispered to me. I looked over at her worried expression and nodded.

"Yeah just... tired," I lied. She didn't bother me the rest of class and when the bell rang for lunch I was thankful that there were only two more periods lefts before I got to go home. I just needed to stay calm for the rest of the day.

Easier said than done.

I sat at the usual table at lunch, with Angela and her friends. They were all talking about something going on in Seattle but I was zoned out. I could not stop thinking about Alice. What if I am her mate? Don't I get any say in this? It sure doesn't feel like I'm her mate. I thought I was supposed to feel some pull towards her. I mean, we feel that weird shocking sensation when we touch. I try to avoid touching her at all now because that feeling freaks me out. But I'm not her mate. I can't be. I won't be.

Everyone at the table suddenly quieted and looked behind me with their eyes wide open.

"What?" I asked, self-consciously. For a moment I thought I had something on my face but I realized what was going on when I heard a voice.

"Can I talk to you?" Alice muttered, standing behind my chair. I swallowed and looked up at her soft golden eyes. I sighed and nodded. I pushed my chair back and she stepped out of the way. She turned and started walking towards the door of the cafeteria, towards the parking lot. She held the door open for me and I followed her out into the cool Forks weather. I couldn't help but wonder what this was about. She continued walking until we were out of seeing distance of the cafeteria.

"Alice, what do you want?" I snapped, hoping that this conversation can go by quickly. I wasn't sure how long I could control myself around her.

"You know I see the future," she stated. I nodded slowly. Where was she going with this? "I had a vision this morning, the first that's actually had you in it clearly," she started. The first? Could she not see me? "It was short, only a snapshot really but you were with these two people," she continued, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a piece of paper that had been folded a few times and unfolded it. "Do you know who they are?" She held up the paper to me and my heart stopped, my stomach dropped, and my mouth went dry.

She had drawn them perfectly. I had to give her that. The drawing was only in pencil, not color, but it didn't matter. My eyes filled with tears and my chest tightened. "Bella?" Alice asked, looking worried. I couldn't move my eyes from the drawing she was holding up. They looked so happy as they smiled and held each other. "Bella?" Alice asked again. She dropped the picture down, out of my sight. My eyes snapped up to hers and I swallowed.

I have to get away. I have to get away from that picture. I have to get away from this damn town! I have to get away from Alice.

I turned and started walking away, hoping and praying that Alice wouldn't come after me. Of course I wasn't so lucky. I felt a cool hand land on my shoulder, sending a tingling feeling down my arm. Without thinking, I spun around, shoving her hand off me and glared at her.

"Do. Not. Touch. Me," I spat. I felt my chest getting tighter and I could feel the anger growing. I had to calm down now.

"Just answer the question Bella!" Alice shouted, glaring right back at me. There was no way in hell I was answering her question.

"Why can't you just leave me alone Alice?!" I yelled, swallowing a growl. Shit. I watched Alice's glare falter.

"I-I don't know," she stuttered before he huffed in annoyance, and ran her hand through her hair.

"I don't have time for this," I muttered, trying to calm myself down. I had to leave. Now. I couldn't lose control of myself. I turned around and started walking back, towards the school. The fact that I was arguing with _Alice_ only added to the fire building in my chest. If I don't get away from her soon, I don't know what will happen. I had only taken a few steps away when I was forced to stop as Alice appeared right in front of me. She looked even more pissed off than before.

"Why are you so stubborn?!" She growled. I noticed her eyes getting darker and I realized that mine must be the same. I blinked hard, not that it would really make a difference.

"Why do you care?!" I yelled back. "Just leave me _alone_!" I leaned towards her, challenging her. I tried to get my breathing back under control. I kept taking short fast breaths. Alice narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, accepting my challenge.

"No," she stated, calmly. "Answer my question. Who are they?"

I think that was about the point at which I snapped. Why couldn't she just drop it? Why couldn't she just leave me alone like I told her?

My vision tinted red and I slammed my body into her, forcing her up against a nearby tree. Luckily, no one was outside to see or hear the crash from the force. Shock flashed over Alice's face but I couldn't be bothered. I gave her plenty of chances to leave.

"You don't know," I warned, "a thing about me."

_**Alice's POV**_

I was surprised at the force of which Bella pushed herself against me. She had pressed me in between her and a tree. No human could possibly do that. I tried to wiggle free but there wasn't enough space to really move. Being this close to her was overwhelming my senses. Her smell was intoxicating and I couldn't stop myself from inhaling it and trying to commit that specific scent to memory. Having her breath fall over my face, her body pressed right up against mine, her eyes holding mine, I couldn't think straight.

"I-I," I stuttered before swallowing as I tried to get my brain working again. My eyes, without permission, dropped down to her lips, inches from my face. Subconsciously, my tongue skimmed over my bottom lip.

"Look me in the eyes when I'm speaking to you!" Bella yelled. My eyes snapped up to hers and I stopped breathing, even though I didn't necessarily need to in the first place. I felt shock cross my features as I was met with dark-as-midnight eyes boring right back into mine.

_**Bella's POV**_

"You-your eyes," Alice stuttered yet again. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Th-they're black." I felt the smirk pull at my lips.

"Glad to know you're not colorblind, Leech," I murmured, sarcastically.

"What are you?" Alice asked, a very determined look setting over her face. My smirk grew and I chuckled darkly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Alice's glare came back full force.

"I don't know why I put up with you," she growled quietly again, trying to control herself. I felt my eyebrows rise.

"_You_ put up with _me_?" I grumbled. "I'm pretty sure it's me who has to put up with you and your freaking family of bloodsuckers!"

"My family? How about your little girlfriend?!" She shot back. Shock crossed her features for a second before her expression went back to determined.

"Ren has nothing to do with this!" I defended as I pushed against her hard, further trapping her against the tree. How dare she bring Ren into this! She knows _nothing_.

"She has everything to do with this!" Alice argued.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" I snapped at her. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah ri-" Alice started but was cut off when the bell rang, ending lunch. Both Alice and I quieted down and continued glaring at each other until people started surrounding us, heading to class. I took this opportunity to try and get away from this situation. I pushed away from Alice and dropped my eyes.

"I have to go to class," I lied. In truth I was going to go far, far away from here. I turned away and had taken approximately three steps before I felt an icy cold, rough hand grasp my arm and tug me back, making me fall off balance.

"Oh no you don't," the annoyingly familiar voice growled. I clenched my teeth and spun around quickly and stepped closer to the vampire in front of me, glaring up at his dark eyes.

"Leave. Me. Alone," I warned, emphasizing each word. Edward leaned his face down, towards mine, challenging my warning. He brought his other hand up, the one not holding onto my arm, and gripped my shoulder, adding pressure that would have severely hurt any normal person.

"Why don't you leave my sister alone?" He warned. Although it was phrased like a question, I knew otherwise. He was telling me to stay away from her. I brought my hand up and mimicked him, grabbing onto his shoulder.

"Shouldn't you be taking that up with her? As far as I'm concerned, she's the one with the freaking degree in stalking me!" A loud growl grumbled though Edward's chest and my eyes narrowed. The amount of people around us was diminishing as they all got to class but there was still a few people running late, wandering around us.

"Listen here you little-" Edward was cut off.

"Edward! Go to class," Alice whisper-yelled. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her standing behind Edward. He continued to glare at me for a second before turning to look at her.

"This insolent little girl needs to be taught a lesson," he growled. Alice's eyes darkened and her expression grew angry.

"Edward. I'm handling it," she growled quietly.

"Oh well you're doing a great j-" Edward started, sarcastically.

"Edward!" Alice hissed. "I said I'm handling it! Now leave me the hell alone and go to class!" Edward glared at her for a moment before growling one more time and dropping his hands from me. He turned around and pointed an accusatory finger at Alice.

"Fine. Don't think we're done talking about this and I am most certainly bringing this up to Carlisle," he warned. I rolled my eyes. _Going to tattle to daddy? Wow, Edward._ He stalked away and both Alice and I watched him go.

The bell rang again a few seconds later and the area that Alice and I were at became empty again as everyone else was in class. I still needed to get away from this situation. I could feel my hands shaking, my chest was tight and my head was starting to hurt. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I speed-dialed Ren and held the phone up to my ear. Of course the one day that I _need_ to go home, she has the car. It hadn't even rung once before the device was ripped out of my hands.

"Oh we're not done yet either," Alice warned. She held the device up to her ear. Did she really just do that?

"Give me my phone back," I demanded, shocked that she had just taken it. Alice looked and me and rolled her eyes.

"It's Alice," she said into the device. "And it is important. How soon can you get to the school?"

"Give me my goddamn phone back Alice!" I yelled. I snatched the phone back and held it up to my ear again but the line was dead. Damn it!

"I'm so sick of this!" I screamed. Alice's eyebrows shot up and she looked shocked yet again.

"I'm sick of this stupid town! I'm sick of your dumb family of bloodsuckers! I'm sick of my life always being so freaking complicated!" I started walking towards Alice and she started backing up.

"What do you mean by always?" Alice asked, curiously. I ignored her and continued.

"I'm sick of never being in control. I'm sick of always having to watch my back," I went on.

"What do you mean by always?" Alice pressed. I had backed her up to a picnic table at this point and was only a few inches away from her.

"What? Nothing… mind your own business," I said, hoping to dismiss her question. Alice sighed and looked at me with soft eyes.

"Bella," she whispered quietly, almost like she was pleading.

"You know what I'm sick of the most?" I asked quietly. I took one more step and watched Alice back up to where her legs hit the bench of the picnic table and she sat down. I leaned towards her a bit and set my hands on either side of her on the table. "You," I stated. Alice's eyebrows furrowed and she swallowed. "I'm sick of the way you make me feel. I'm sick of feeling bad when you're upset. I'm sick of that _damn_ tingling feeling whenever you touch me!" A look of understanding flashed over Alice's face. _At least I know she feels it too._ Neither one of us spoke for a moment. Alice's eyes, full of confusion and another emotion I couldn't describe, held mine with such intensity that I couldn't look away. My breathing was coming out in short fast breaths and I tried to calm myself down but I was too far gone. "I can't," I started. Alice's eyebrows raised slightly in question. "I _can't_ be your mate." A look of hurt flashed across Alice's face before she masked it.

"Bella," she sighed my name and I clenched my jaw at the way my stomach flipped just at her voice. She slowly, hesitantly brought up her right hand towards my face. At the sight of it, I felt the slight rumble in my chest grow louder. Alice swallowed again but continued to move her hand toward my face, cautiously. I pulled back an inch and her hand froze before slowly cupping my left cheek. By now I knew she could hear my growl. I was seriously surprised no one had come outside to investigate.

"I can't," I whispered, my eyes still locked on hers.

"Okay," she whispered and nodded slightly as her eyes flashed between my eyes and my lips a few times. My body started relaxing without my permission. "It's okay," she said softly. Neither one of us said anything for a moment. I couldn't help but feel like there was some invisible force pulling me towards her as we inched closer. Alice's thumb stroked my cheek once and I sighed. Her breath fanned over my skin and her face stood inches away.

We were so wrapped up in each other that the loud screech of tires yanked us back into reality. I shoved myself away from Alice, disgusted and glared at the familiar beaten up truck that was tearing it into the parking lot. The wheels screeched again as the driver hit the brakes hard. The truck came to an abrupt stop at about the same second that Ren bounded out of the cab and towards Alice and I.

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**A/N: So...? How was it? Any more ideas for what Bella and Ren are? I'll probably update again next weekend. And hopefully I'll have more time to write over the holidays! Please review and let me know what you think!**

**P.S. Sorry about the cliffhanger again... :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Happy Holidays everyone! Sorry this took me a while to update... I'm a bit nervous about this chapter and I'm sure you'll see why. This is THE chapter, everyone! HUGE thank you to Emma Lee Rose! You're awesome! See you at the bottom!**

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**Chapter 10**

_**Bella's POV**_

_We were so wrapped up in each other that the loud screech of tires yanked us back into reality. I shoved myself away from Alice, disgusted and glared at the familiar beaten up truck that was tearing it into the parking lot. The wheels screeched again as the driver hit the brakes hard. The truck came to an abrupt stop at about the same second that Ren bounded out of the cab and towards Alice and I._

I had, even though I would never have admitted this, calmed down considerably with Alice but all thoughts of being calm flew out of my mind the second the old truck pulled into the lot. If it was only Renesmee, it would have been a different story, but no. Of course she had to bring the stupid mutt, Jacob, with her. I felt my breathing start coming out quickly again and the growling in my chest grew louder as I stalked towards Renesmee. We made it to each other in a matter of seconds and I threw my arms out and shoved her back.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I yelled.

"Bella," she warned as she got her balance back and looked at me very seriously. My whole body felt like it was on fire as I glared at her and almost gagged at the smell of the shifter. He had gotten out of the truck by now and was walking slowly over to us. My head snapped over in his direction and I let out a snarl. I watched as his eyes widened and he swallowed as his steps faltered. I felt a dark smirk fall over my lips.

"What…" he started and trailed off. My teeth clenched together as I took a menacing step towards him. That's when Renesmee lost it.

"Hey!" She yelled and shoved my shoulder. My eyes snapped back to her and I growled. Her eyes darkened slightly and she took a challenging step towards me. "Stop it!" I chuckled again. She thought she could over power me. The thought was almost hysterical. I turned back to Jacob and narrowed my eyes.

Even though my attention was on the _dog_, I knew that Alice was still behind me, not too far away as she had taken a few steps towards me. She wasn't my main priority right now. The _mutt_ needed to go.

"Why did you bring _him_?" I sneered and took another step towards him. I noticed his arms starting to shake and I smirked again.

"Hey!" Renesmee yelled louder and growled at me as she stepped in front of me, effectively blocking my path to Jacob. "Snap out of it!"

"Make me," I challenged glaring into her dark eyes. Her face hardened as she locked her eyes on mine. I didn't dare look away. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Jake, you need to go," she said softly, while maintaining eye contact with me.

"What? No I can't leave you with-" I cut him off, but kept my eyes on Ren's still.

"Me?! You can't leave her with m-" This time Renesmee cut me off.

"Go Jake! Now!" She ordered. My lips twitched when I saw her eyes show off her pain at yelling at him.

"But-"

"Now! I'll call you later," she demanded, growling softly with every exhale. We were both silent except for our labored breathing and stiff growls as we waited for him to give up and leave. Finally, after a few minutes of silent deliberation, he slowly started walking away and into the woods at the end of the parking lot. When he was out of hearing distance, I smirked again. Renesmee's eyes narrowed. "Happy?" I didn't answer, just snorted a laugh. For the first time since she got here, Renesmee turned her head and acknowledged Alice, who was standing a few feet away from me, watching with a confused expression. "What happened?" Renesmee demanded. Alice shrugged and shook her head.

"I don't… I'm…" She looked back and forth between Renesmee and me.

"Alice," Renesmee said in a warning tone. Alice looked at her and bit her lip for a moment. My eyes were drawn to the movement of her lips before I turned away.

"I um… I don't know. I came out here with her to ask her about a... a vision I had with… these two people… I showed her a picture I had drawn of them and she flipped out and-"

"Let me see it," Renesmee demanded again. Another growl escaped my lips unwillingly as she walked closer to Alice, who nodded and pulled the piece of paper from her pocket. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn't see their interaction or Renesmee's first expression after seeing the picture but when I opened my eyes and looked at her she looked back at me with pity practically rolling off her face, which only made me angrier. "Bella," she whispered, sounding heartbroken. I didn't respond. I just kept staring at her. She started walking slowly back to me and I shook my head, looking down at my feet. "Honey," she said softly.

"Don't!" I muttered, harshly as my eyes snapped up to glare at her yet again. She stopped walking and held her hands up in a surrender-like motion, showing me that she meant no harm. She knew how far gone I was at this point.

"Bella-" She started but I cut her off.

"No!" I yelled, almost pleading for her not to speak about it. I clutched my head out of anger and frustration. Every time I blinked, I saw them, their faces, their happy faces which I would never see ever again. Tears started filling Ren's eyes and she sighed.

"Honey, it's been five y-" I cut her off again.

"No!" I shouted. My heartbeat was pounding in my ears and my entire body was shaking like an earthquake. "Stop," I practically begged. Renesmee took another step towards me before stopped and sighing softly again.

"I understand that-" I cut her off again.

"No! You don't understand. You'll never understand! Don't pretend like you do," I snapped. Renesmee's eyes flickered with deep hurt and I almost apologized for what I said. Almost. I knew it had hit home but I didn't care at this point.

"I can't believe you just said that," she murmured.

"Well it's true! You don't know what it's like to lose someone you love because you've never had anyone that loves you," I spat. I watched Ren flinch as if I had physically hit her. We were both quiet again for a few moment. Renesmee looked up at me with disappointment before her expression hardened. She turned her head to Alice.

"Don't kill me," she warned. What? Why would she-?

My thought was interrupted by the loud smack across my cheek and the sudden slight sting that flashed across my face. I heard a loud snarl from behind Renesmee. Alice. I noticed her take a step towards us before stopped herself and glaring at Renesmee instead. I looked to Ren and chuckled darkly again.

"Is that it?" I asked, mocking her. Her eyes narrowed and she slapped me again. I let her do it this time and my laughing grew louder. "Come on Annie," I mocked again. She growled and attempted to slap me once more but I saw this one coming and I grabbed her hand just before it made contact with my face. I yanked it towards me, pulling her against me. With my face inches from hers, I smirked and glared at her. "You could never win against me before, what makes you think you can do it now?" I mocked. Her eyes darkened again and filled with determination.

"I don't need to win. I just need to snap you out of this," she muttered quietly.

"Hm? And how do you plan on doing that?" I sneered. She smirked this time.

"I may not be stronger than you but you're forgetting that I know every single weakness you have," she snapped back. I chuckled.

"Right back atcha," I muttered. She shoved her whole weight against me, making me wobble backwards and lose my grip on her. I was still holding her hand however and I yanked that back towards me again. She knew that was coming this time and she jumped at the last minute, pushing her weight against me and making us both fall to the ground. I groaned as my back slammed into the concrete. Renesmee fell straight on top of me and while I was momentarily lost in the pain running up my back, she grabbed my wrists and locked them above my head after straddling me and effectively pinning me down. I growled loudly at her when I realized what she had done. I tried to push her off but she pushed her weight against me and started talking.

"You think they'd be proud of you?" She started and that made me stop for a moment. Proud? "Hm? You think they'd be happy at who you've become?" She asked quietly, in my ear. I went limp on the ground as I pictured them again. "Pushing away anyone that gives a _shit_ about you?" My heart stopped as I pictured their disappointed faces. I shut my eyes tight, trying not to let the tears that were beginning to form, fall down my face. "Is this who they wanted you to grow up to be?" I whimpered. She loosened her grip on my wrists slightly. She took a shaky breath and it seemed like what she was going to say next was hard for her. "A... monster? Just like _him_." A loud sob escaped my throat and I turned my head into Renesmee's neck as the tears poured over.

"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I'm so sorry," I cried.

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_**Alice's POV**_

I watched, frozen, as Renesmee spoke quietly to Bella, whose entire body slumped at Renesmee's words.

"Is this who they wanted you to grow up to be?" Renesmee whispered and Bella whimpered quietly. My heart broke at the sound and all I wanted to do was wrap her up in my arms and hold her forever. I forced myself to stay still even though I wanted to rip Renesmee off my poor Bella. I heard Renesmee take a shaky breath and I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering why she was upset at saying what she would next. "A… monster? Just like _him_." A loud sob fell from Bella's lips and my knees felt weak, as if I would collapse just from the sound. A whimper fell from my lips.

And who the hell was _him_?

I watched as Bella hid her head in Renesmee's neck and sobbed while apologizing profusely. I almost dropped to my knees at the pain in her voice as she begged Renesmee to forgive her and not leave her. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealously at that but I forced it down.  
Renesmee turned her head to look at me and she frowned and mouthed "I'm sorry" to me before returning her attention to her girlfriend.

As I looked at her, weeping on the concrete, I realized that her hard outer shell is just that, a hard outer shell. Inside she's torn up. It was this moment that I realized that I may not like it and she may not like it, but she's my mate. And I'm hers.

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_**Bella's POV**_

Renesmee had pulled me up and into her lap as she hushed and rocked me slightly. Luckily we were facing away from the school so I didn't have to face Alice right away. I hadn't said anything for the past few minutes. I was just trying to get my breathing back under control. I was still shaking a ton and my chest felt tight.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered for about the fiftieth time. Ren sighed and shook her head.

"It's okay," she murmured. I shook my head.

"No it's not. I shouldn't have said what I did. Any of it," I muttered. Renesmee was quiet for a moment and nodded.

"I'm thinking the same thing at the moment," she said quietly. I looked up and noticed how upset she looked.

"You needed to," I told her, honestly. She needed to say those things. She bit her lip and nodded slowly.

"Doesn't make me feel any better," she answered before running her hands through my hair as her expression turned thoughtful. "When was the last time you…" She trailed off. I didn't know what she was talking about until I met her eyes again and saw them flicker to my neck.

"Um… nine months," I told her honestly. She clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"Bella," she started.

"I know," I said sighing. I wasn't supposed to wait that long. Renesmee hummed and let it go. We were quiet for a few more minutes before taking a deep breath.

"The school bell's probably going to ring again soon," she muttered. I looked up at her, worried that people would see me like this. She nodded and stood up slowly, pulling me up with her.

"Come on, let's go back to Charlie's, okay?" I nodded slowly, glancing behind her at Alice, who was still standing frozen in the spot she'd been in since Renesmee pinned me to the ground. "She deserves an explanation," Renesmee said quietly. I tried to think of getting out of this but there was no way that I could come up with so I nodded. Renesmee smiled softly at me and gave me the keys to the truck. I looked at her, confused. "Go get in. I'll talk to the pixie," she told me. My lip twitched into a small smile. My eyes met Alice's for a few seconds before I turned and walked to the truck. I opened the door and the harsh smell of Jacob flew out and I almost gagged again. I forced myself into the truck, deciding I should probably sit in the middle as there was no way Ren would let me drive and I didn't think Alice would want to be stuck, uncomfortably, in the middle of us, if she was coming, that is.

I started the engine and let the AC blow against my face as I looked out the windshield to see Renesmee talking to Alice, whose eyes were glued to my face. She looked incredibly hurt and I felt a tug at my heart. Alice nodded to something Renesmee said and Ren smiled before she started back towards the truck with Alice following her. I felt a sudden wave of nervousness that I would be in a tiny truck cabin, sitting right next to Alice. Renesmee got into the truck first and she winked at me. The door next to me screeched as it was opened and Alice's little figure hopped into the seat next to me, her leg rubbing against mine, sending tingles up that side of my body. I met her eyes for a moment and she smiled softly. I couldn't help but return it as Renesmee pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"How do you feel?" Ren asked quietly, breaking the silence in the truck. I looked at her, raising my eyebrow. She turned to me for a second and rolled her eyes before looking back at the road. "Humor me." I took a deep breath and shrugged.

"I dunno. I can't stop sh-shaking; I feel like I've been on a thousand mile marathon; I have a horrible headache; my chest still feels like it's on f-fire," I said, listing off things.

"Yeah I'm sure it does. It's been nine months, Bella," she told me, sarcastically. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Alice's face flash with confusion.

Renesmee went over a bump in the road and the truck jolted, making me fall to my right. I, instinctively held out a hand to stop myself, not looking where I grabbed. I heard a sharp intake of breath and turned to see that my hands had grabbed Alice's left thigh. She tensed up and I yanked my hand away, feeling my face turn bright red.

"I'm s-sorry," I stuttered. Alice relaxed, smirked slightly and shook her head before looking out the window. I turned back around and noticed Renesmee trying to stop herself from laughing.

"Yeah ha-ha," I murmured, sarcastically. She chuckled and shook her head.

We were all silent for the rest of the drive and as Renesmee pulled into the driveway of Charlie's house, I felt Alice stiffen next to me. I turned and my heart stopped for a second at her blank expression. Her eyes had glazed over and she wasn't moving at all. Normally she had a bit of movement, like she was breathing, but now: nothing.

"Alice?" I panicked. "Alice, what's-" I was stopped when she blinked hard and turned to me.

"Hm?" she hummed, turning her head to me, looking confused. I opened my mouth a few times but nothing came out. What the heck just happened?

"What-what just…?" I stuttered. A look of understanding flashed over Alice's face and she nodded.

"Oh, um… I was having a vision," she explained. I sighed, relieved. "I need to make a phone call," she muttered and smiled, apologetically. I nodded and looked to my left, to Ren, who smiled at me.

"You do that. I'll help Bella into the house," she said. Alice nodded and I rolled my eyes.

"I do not need help," I murmured, stubbornly. Ren snorted and rolled her eyes, while mumbling something. I watched Alice open her door, hop out and walk a few paces away from the car before pulling out her cell phone. She turned to face me as she spoke quickly on the phone. My eyes locked with her and I didn't move for a second before Ren cleared her throat. I turned my attention back to her and shuffled my way out the car. I managed to get both my feet on the pavement but when I started to take a step, the world spun and my legs gave away. I was caught in warm, strong arms and I sighed and smiled at Ren who was smirking back at me. She helped me into the house and over to the couch, where I sat down and let my body relax. I looked up at Renesmee who still had a hint of pity in her eyes and I groaned as she sat down next to me.

"What?" She asked slowly. I shook my head and leaned it back against the back of the couch before closing my eyes. "Hey," Ren whispered, taking my hand. "We're going to tell her, okay?" I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at her. "Everything."

"Ren-" I started but she cut me off.

"No. She needs to know. So either you're going to tell her or I am," she murmured strictly. She looked at me for a response and I sighed before nodding slowly. Ren's lips twitched into a small smile and we both looked up as we heard the front door open and close before Alice came into view. She smiled nervously, looking a little uncomfortable. Renesmee must have seen this so she dropped my hand, stood up and made her way over to Alice. "Why don't you go sit with Bella? I'll be right back," she muttered to the vampire. I watched as she walked passed Alice and down the hallway. Alice slowly walked over and sat down next to me, where Ren had been but leaving as much space between us as possible. Neither one of us said anything until Renesmee got back with a glass of water in her hand. She handed me the glass and a small pill which I took without question, knowing it was some type of pain medication.

Ren hopped up on the arm of the couch and turned so she was sitting sideways, facing Alice and me. She gestured for me to scoot down the couch a bit so she could put her feet next to me so I did, not realizing that this was putting me closer to Alice. I rolled my eyes and decided not to comment on the smirk pulling at Ren's lips. All three of us were quiet for a few minutes, not knowing exactly where to start. I leaned my head back again and closed my eyes, wishing the pain in my body to go away. I felt a light tap on my leg and I rolled my eyes and peeked up at Ren who had tilted her head.

"Where should we start?" She asked quietly. I shrugged and watched as she looked passed me to Alice. I rolled my head and caught Alice's tongue peak out of her mouth and run across her bottom lip. I had to force myself to keep breathing and move my eyes up. Our gazes met and her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"How about the beginning?" She proposed. I scoffed quietly.

"Yeah, if there _was_ a distinct beginning," I muttered sarcastically. Ren clicked her tongue to get my attention.

"How about we start with what we are?" She asked slowly, watching me closely for my reaction. I took a deep breath and nodded.

I knew I had to do this. Ren was right. Alice deserved to know. She did. Especially after all the crap I've put her through today. I couldn't think of a better way to say what I was going to say next other than by just bluntly stating the fact.

My eyes met Alice's again and she pulled her feet up and spun towards me slightly so she was sitting sideways like Ren, with her knees touching my thigh. She was completely focused on me and I forced myself to take another deep breath. What I was about to reveal would be both dangerous for her and me. Not to mention Ren as well.

"I'm-" I stopped and acknowledged Ren, "We're… hybrids."

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**A/N: Well? Was it what you thought? I hope you aren't disappointed. I do want to say that I have changed the dynamics of hybrids in this story a bit and you'll get more of an explanation in the next chapter! Did ya like it?**

**Next chapter: Alice has a _few_ questions...**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: What's this?! An update?! This fast! :P So I know I left the last chapter on a pretty big cliffhanger and I got tons of awesome reviews so I thought I'd give you guys this one. Big thank you to Emma Lee Rose! See you at the bottom!**

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Last Time:_  
_

_"I'm-" I stopped and acknowledged Ren, "We're… hybrids."_

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**Chapter 11**

_**Bella's POV**_

I waited and watched Alice, hoping for some sort of reaction. All I got was a slight twitch of her eyebrow. She was silent for quite a while and if she had been human, I would have been extremely worried. I wasn't even sure she was breathing. Not that she needed to.

"H-hybrid?" She finally spoke. Her eyes met mine with utter confusion before darting to Ren and back to me. I nodded slowly. "Of what exactly?" She asked slowly, cautiously. I looked over to Ren, hoping for some help.

"Well we're part human," she started and looked at me for confirmation. I nodded. "And part vampire." Alice laughed humorlessly.

"That's not possible," she stated. I scoffed.

"Said the ninety-two year old vampire," I exclaimed sarcastically.

"Bella," Ren murmured in a warning tone. I rolled my eyes and didn't argue with her.

"How… how can you be _half_ vampire?" Alice asked, still completely confused. _Oh, so she can believe in vampires and werewolves and shape-shifters but god forbid a half vampire comes into her life_, I thought sarcastically.

"It's a long story," Ren whispered before looking to me. I raised an eyebrow. What did she want me to do? "You know more about the … way we are what we are." I sighed and clenched my jaw. She was right. After I had learned what I truly was, I delved into research. I _had_ to understand why I was like this. I shrugged a shoulder and tried to think of a way of explaining this.

_It's actually quite complicated, now that I think back on it. I'm not entirely sure how to put it all into words but I guess I have to try for Alice's sake_. I took a deep breath and turned to Alice again. She was looking up at me as she bit her lip softly and I swallowed a growl at the sight. Forcing myself to focus, I started explaining as best I could.

"We were never fully human," I started. "It's hard to explain really because it doesn't even make much sense to me and I've been researching it for the past five years-" Alice cut me off.

"Wait, how old are you?" She asked. She scooted forward a few inches, her knees pressing more into my thigh. I sighed.

"Technically, twenty-three," I told her. Her eyebrows raised in shock. "I was eighteen when everything happened," I explained. I don't think she completely understood what I meant but I'd get to that part of the story soon enough.

"My blood, and Renesmee's as well, was different from the start," I muttered. Alice nodded for me to go on. "Well," I paused and tried to think of a way to say this, "My great-grandmother sort of… had an affair with a vampire. She got pregnant and gave birth to my grandmother, Marie, a full bred hybrid. My grandma didn't have a great childhood because her parents were both dead. Her mother had died during childbirth. So she came across-" Alice cut me off again.

"Wait," she started. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "If you grandmother was a full bred hybrid, what does that make you?"

"I'm getting to that," I told her, trying to maintain my patience. Alice smiled apologetically. "As I was saying, my grandmother came across a group of vampires, The Volturi." Alice's eyes snapped up in surprise. She didn't say anything though so I went on. "The Volturi explained to her what she was and trained her. She worked with them on fighting vampires who were becoming a menace to humans and-" This time, Ren interrupted me.

"Tell her about the journals," she mentioned. I bit my tongue and forced myself to take a deep breath.

"Fine," I said through clenched teeth. "Grandma Marie wrote down every vampire she met or observed in these journals. She researched covens and nomads from the Volturi's records as well. That's how I know all the information I do about your family. Happy?" I turned to Ren and she rolled her eyes.

"Be nice," she warned quietly. I ignored her and went on with my story.

"My grandma met my grandpa and she fell in love. She had a child with him, my mother. She died shortly after giving birth. Since my grandmother was a hybrid but my grandfather was human, my mom still had the genes of a hybrid but they weren't really… activated?" I turned to Ren and rose an eyebrow. "Is that the right word?"

"I guess," she murmured, shrugging.

"What do you mean "activated"?" Alice asked. She pulled her knees up and rested her chin on the top of them, her eyes trained on me.

"I'm getting to that. Now since my mother refused to follow in my grandmother's footsteps, even though my grandma really wanted her to, she never had to deal with all this shit," I took a pause again and I felt Ren's eyes on me. I refused to turn to her, knowing I would be met with pity. "My mother thought she was keeping her family safe by refusing to accept what she was. What she didn't know was how badly that plan would backfire." I took a deep breath and decided to tell a story from one of my family vacations.

"When I was fifteen, my parents took me to Italy. I loved it. It was beautiful and exciting and _new_. The problem was, we just so happened to show up on the week of Saint Marcus Day," I murmured. Alice's jaw clenched. "My dad decided it would be a good idea to go on the tour of the castle that day." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice's hand clench into a fist. "We were all spared, obviously. One of the vampires had smelt my mother's and my blood and realized what we were. He caught us before we walked into the room. I remember walking back out of the castle, completely confused as to why so many screams were coming from inside. My mother begged the man to not say much. She didn't want to scare me. That was my first encounter with vampires."

I decided to stop talking for a second. I shut my eyes tightly. Talking about my parents was killing me. I hated this. I hated remembering them. I wish I could just forget about it all.

_No you don't._

"You okay?" Ren asked softly. I looked up at her but didn't respond. She knew which part of the explanation I was at. Her lips twitched as she tried to smile encouragingly.

"When I was eighteen, after my last day of high school, I was walking home, thinking about how great my life was. I had just graduated and gotten accepted into my dream college. My parents supported me one hundred percent." I paused again and took a deep breath. "When I walked up the street to my house, I could feel that something was off; something was wrong. The closer I got to my driveway, the more uneasy I felt. I-" I stopped and took a shaky breath. I felt Ren reach over and take my hand. "I-" This time, I was cut off by the sounds of the front door opening.

"Hey Bells, it's just me," Charlie said as he closed the door. "I was just gonna come grab some clothes. I'm heading to Seattle to-" He froze as he walked past the room. His shoulders tensed and in a second, he had spun around, facing us, and pulled his gun from his belt, aiming it right at Alice. Without thinking, I jumped up and blocked Alice.

"Charlie," I growled quickly, trying to repress the instinct to rip his arm off for threatening _my_ Alice. His eyes that were glaring at the vampire behind me, met mine and his jaw clenched.

"Move," he ordered harshly. My whole body had picked up shaking again and I felt the familiar heat burn through my veins. My breathing was labored as I was trying to calm myself back down.

"Bella," Ren whispered, trying to snap me out of it.

"Isabella Marie Swan! Move!" Charlie yelled as he tensed his hand as if he would pull the trigger any second.

"Make me," I snapped. I felt Alice move a little behind me and my right arm shot out to make sure she didn't move out and into danger. I felt her cool hand grasp my wrist and for some reason, that small connection made me relax considerably.

"Do you realize what you're doing?!" Charlie spat at me. "_She's_ one of them!"

"You don't think I know that!" I yelled back. "I know exactly what I'm doing!"

"Oh really," Charlie scoffed. "Maybe you're forgetting what _they_ did to us. What _they_ took away from us!" This is what really pissed me of. I took a menacing step forward but Alice's grip on my wrist tightened, silently telling me not to do anything I'd regret.

"I'm not forgetting anything! How dare you even accuse me of that! I-"

"Move out of the way young lady!" Charlie interrupted me. I snorted.

"Why should I listen to you? Huh? You're not my father!" Charlie flinched.

"No," he whispered. "No. He was killed. Murdered. In cold blood!" I couldn't stop the snarl that ripped through my chest at his statement, and Alice's wrist tightened even more so on my wrist; she tugged me back a bit but I didn't budge.

"I know! I was there remember! I was the one who walked in and saw them lying there lifeless! Not you! I was the one that saw how ripped open their bodies were! I was the one that couldn't stop seeing red for weeks after! Not you, you asshole! No! You're the one that sat here in little old Forks and threw yourself a little pity party!" I forced myself to stop and tried to fix my breathing. Alice had frozen behind me and Ren decided now was the time to intervene.

"I think now is a good time to stop and not say anything we'll regret later," Ren spoke slowly. Charlie continued glaring at Alice for a good few more minutes, his gun still aimed, his finger twitched on the trigger.

I took this time to attempt to pull myself out of this mess. My entire body was shaking like a werewolf's. My heart was racing. My body felt like it was on fire. I felt like the only thing keeping me sane was Alice's cold grip on my wrist. She must have sensed how much trouble I was having because she slowly leaned into me, resting her forehead against the back of my neck. I tensed up a little at first from the coldness but I couldn't help but relax as I felt her cool breath fan down the back of my shirt.

My eyes met Charlie's again and his conveyed his curiosity and confusion about Alice and my interactions. My lip twitched and I shrugged a shoulder. Charlie's arm came down slowly, lowering the gun. I relaxed further and I felt Alice nuzzle her face into my hair some more. I watched Charlie's eyes flicker between Alice and me, getting sadder each second.

"I…" He trailed off before shaking his head as his shoulder slumped in defeat. "I'm not okay with this."

"And I don't give damn what you're okay with," I muttered. Charlie looked at me blankly for a moment before slowly nodding his head.

"Umm… I'm going to Seattle for a few days so…" He murmured. I bit my lip and nodded uncomfortably. He looked like he wanted to say more but he didn't.

A few moments later, the door closed softly and we all heard the purr of the police cruiser as he backed out of the driveway.

"Well that was interesting," Ren joked, trying to calm the mood of the room a bit. Finally realizing how close Alice was to me, I slowly pulled away. Alice held on tighter for a moment before sighing and letting go before she sat back down on the couch, looking up at me expectantly.

"You really need to start explaining all of this," she murmured. I took a deep breath and nodded slowly as I went into my story.

I explained to Alice how I had walked up to my house, seeing the door shoved open so hard that the wall behind it had cracked. I had rushed in, calling out for my parents. Alice's eyes darkened when I went on to tell her that I walked into my parents room to see them sprawled out, blood gushing from hundreds of wounds. They looked as if they were torn apart as easily as paper. I called the police, not knowing what else to do. No one could help though. My parents were dead. Ripped apart like they were nothing.

In the back of my mind, I had known that no human could be capable of this.

Technically, since I was eighteen, I wasn't forced to be shipped off to some relative I had never met. I had planned on staying with a friend before figuring out what I was going to do but that never ended up happening. A few days after my parents' murder, a man was following me as I was walking to the store. I turned a corner, and he was suddenly in front of me.

He was extremely pale and had bright red eyes. He reminded me of the people I had seen when I went to Italy with my parents.

Alice tensed up more as I told her that he spoke to me, explaining that he knew who I was and that he would help me if I went with him. At first I refused, but then what did I have to lose? My family had already been taken away from me.

He took me to Italy where I met the Volturi, who explained to me what I was.

"I remember scoffing and telling them they were crazy," I mumbled. Ren chuckled a little beside me. "They told me that even though I was a hybrid genetically, that particular part of me hadn't been activated yet. I told them they were crazy again but they went on to tell me that since I wasn't a full bred hybrid, I had to be given venom in order to trigger the hybrid gene. They told me that they were more than willing to provide the venom if I chose to become 'What I was destined to be'," I quoted Aro, rolling my eyes. "I thought about it and eventually went 'what the hell' and went for it. And here we are."

Alice shook her head quickly.

"What do you mean 'provide the venom'?" She asked, confused.

"Hybrids can obtain vampire venom without any pain whatsoever, except from the actual bite that is. Usually we have a "donor," someone who is our usual source of venom, that gives us venom through a bite," I explained as well I could, purposely leaving out who my "donor" was.

"A bite of which you're supposed to get every few months, _not_ every nine, Bella," Ren argued. I rolled my eyes.

"So you get bitten by a Volturi member to get venom which makes you into what you are?" Alice asked, not quite believing what I was saying. Ren and I both nodded. "Who?" She demanded. I bit my lip and looked at Ren, who turned away.

"I um… I can't tell you that," I whispered.

"Bella," Alice whined.

"Listen, I'm being as honest as I can, believe me. It's just too dangerous to tell you that."

"Why?"

"My "donor" is a member of the Volturi, which means sh-they're powerful," I paused and took a deep breath, rewording my explanation. "The "donor" and the hybrid develop a sort of connection. Say I told you who was giving me venom. If you wanted to hurt me, you could easily do that by hurting h-them. And vice-versa. I guess you could look at it as I'm sort of a weakness to my "donor." Plus," I added," not many vampires can easily give venom without taking a lot of blood."

Alice looked as if she was processing for a few moments before shaking her head slowly.

"This is unbelievable," she muttered. "How do I know what you're saying is true? That it's not just some made-up story?" I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

"Well I don't know how to exactly prove-" Ren cut me off.

"I do!" She exclaimed. I turned to her and instantly noticed how her eyes dropped down to the left side of my neck.

"Ren no," I ordered but she continued anyway.

"When we get venom, it feels really good, like a drug. And it's common for "donors" to always use the same site," as Ren explained, she moved my hair away from the left side of my neck.

"Ren-"

"Which makes that site extremely sensitive," she went on.

"R-"

"And Bella's site," Ren whispered, smirking as she lowered her face to my throat. Alice started growling softly next to me but she didn't move. "Is right... here." Right as she said this, she nudged her nose against the extremely responsive area right as my neck meets my shoulder. I couldn't help it as my eyes rolled in the back of my head, I arched my face away to give her more room and I whimpered rather loudly.

A snarl ripped through Alice's throat and Ren pushed herself away from me, smiling apologetically.

"Sorry," she murmured. Alice blinked hard and huffed before looking back at me. I blinked my eyes a few times and shoved Ren's arm.

"Don't do that!" Her lip twitched, and she sat back.

"Do you have bite marks?" Alice asked, curiously, trying to look over at my neck. I rolled my eyes and pulled my shirt down to my shoulder. Alice's eyes widened when she saw the scars. They weren't extremely deep and I doubt anyone would really see them unless they were looking specifically for them. Alice reached out a tentative hand. I didn't protest so she slowly traced the marks on my neck. I bit back a moan and tried to control my racing heartbeat. "Wow," she whispered.

"Yeah," I mumbled, not really sure how to respond to that. There was an increase of the tension in the air as Alice traced her finger over the scars slowly before bypassing them and running a finger over my pulse in my neck. I watched Alice's eyes grow visibly darker and her lips parted slightly as she stared at my neck.

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**A/N: So there you have it... A bit of an explanation. I know I left some things out. Can't tell you everything now, can I? **

**Any questions you think Alice missed? I tried to put in as many as I could. If you think of some or just have any in general, let me know! I want to make sure all questions are answered (for the most part). What do you guys think? Please review!**

**Next Chapter: Alice gives Bella something and Ren and Bella have a little talk**  
_**[may not update for a bit... depends if I have some time to write more in the next few days] **_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So I know it's been a while. Sorry about that. Been really busy but here's an update! Hopefully I'll have more time to write next weekend so as of now, I'm planning to update again then. :) Huge thanks to Emma Lee Rose!**

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**Chapter 12**

_**Bella's POV**_

No one in the room seemed to move for what felt like hours but must have been only a few seconds. Alice slowly furrowed her eyebrows and must have realized what she was doing as she blinked hard. Suddenly she yanked herself away from me, now standing on the other side of the room, her breathing ragged.

"I-" She started but stopped herself. Ren and I didn't dare move. We sat, staring at the vampire who I had a sudden urge to comfort. I forced that instinct down as I watched her take a deep breath. "I should go… I need to explain everything to my family." I bit my lip and nodded, wondering why I felt as if I would do anything to have her stay. Again I forced that impulse down. Alice stood, staring at the wall in front of her for a moment before slowly turning back to us and attempting to smile.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to get off the couch. My actions caused her to start to shake her head but I continued as I walked passed her, towards the front door. She seemed to catch onto what I was doing and followed. I stepped out onto the front porch and shut the door behind us. Alice seemed to be more relaxed out in the fresh air.

"So you don't mind if I tell my family?" She asked hesitantly. I shook my head.

"No. It means I don't have to explain it all again," I told her honestly. I did not want to revisit what I've gone through today any time soon. Alice looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding slowly.

"They'll have questions."

"I'll have answers," I countered, smirking slightly. "Hopefully," I added after thinking for a moment. Alice smiled softly before her eyes lit up and her smile grew.

"Give me your phone," she practically ordered. I felt one of my eyebrows raise in confusion. Why was she excited all of a sudden? "C'mon," she begged, obviously upset at how long it was taking me to respond. I rolled my eyes and pulled by phone out of my pocket, handing it to her. Our fingers brushed and I tried to not react to the tingle that ran through my whole hand. Alice pulled her bottom lip into her mouth as she pushed a few buttons on the device before shoving it back into my hands. "There," she muttered quietly, quite happy with herself. I went to look at the phone but she pushed my hand down, indirectly telling me she wanted my attention. I reluctantly looked up and noticed her small smirk. "I'll see you tomorrow?" I nodded slowly. Our eyes stayed glued to each other for a few more seconds before hers dropped down to my lips quickly.  
A sudden panic fled through me. I've told her practically my whole story, while leaving out a few details of course, but still. Isn't that enough? This is moving way too fast. I'm supposed to hate her kind. I'm supposed to want to kill her. Why the hell do I want her to kiss me?

Alice's eyes met mine curiously. She must be wondering what I was thinking about. Instead of answering the question portrayed in her eyes, I just shook my head. I've made enough progress today, haven't I? Alice's lips twitched into a small smirk again before she leaned up and pressed her lips to my right cheek. It was a quick kiss that managed to send tingles through my entire body.

"I'll see you later Bella," she muttered happily. She pulled away from me, winked and started down the driveway. I watched her until she passed the trees and was no longer in my vision. I sighed and looked down at my phone, realizing that she had inputted her phone number, the ID for the number: _Alicexox_. I couldn't help but roll my eyes and smile softly as I walked back into the house.

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_**Alice's POV**_

"That's all you got out of her?!" Edward roared over the rest of my family's questions. Everyone turned and looked up at him in shock.

It had been a few hours since I was at Bella's house. I was trying to explain what she said to me, relaying the information to my family. I thought for sure that after I explained everything, my family would no longer think of Bella as a threat.

"I wasn't _trying_ to get anything out of her, Edward," I couldn't help but snap back at him. "It wasn't an interrogation." Edward opened his mouth to respond but stopped when Carlisle rose his hand in an authoritative manner.

"Now, Edward, I don't think we should be rash about this situation," my father spoke with logic.

"Rash? She's still a threat to our family! If what she did to Alice today wasn't enough proof, then I don't know what will be!" Edward yelled. My teeth clenched together. How _dare_ he accuse Bella of doing anything bad to me. I wouldn't take back a single second of this day. My mother who was sitting next to me, took my hand, silently telling me to calm myself down.

"Alice?" Jasper asked quietly, hoping for more of an explanation. I shrugged.

"I told you everything. She didn't hurt me or anythi-" Edward cut me off loudly.

"Hurt you?! When I walked outside, you were clearly shoved up against a tree!"

"Kinky," Emmett murmured quietly as a joke. Rosalie elbowed him and his smirk dropped.

"Yeah but she wasn't hurting me, Edward. Besides, I can take care of myself," I muttered defiantly. Edward scoffed.

"Right. And you mating with an atrocity to this world clearly shows that," Edward mocked. A snarl ripped through my throat and I was up before I had realized what I was doing. Emmett was the closest to me as he grabbed my arm tightly, stopping me from ripping apart my sick excuse of a brother.

"Enough!" Carlisle shouted over the chaos. Both Edward and I turned to him.

"We may have not decided how to come about this situation but Bella is Alice's mate. She is a part of this family now, Edward, regardless of whether she should be considered dangerous. I will not have you insulting another member of this family in such a way. Do you understand?" Carlisle spoke rather harshly. He was very protective over his family. Edward looked around for someone to come to his aid. When no one spoke up, he huffed and sulked out of the room, practically stomping as he slammed the front door. I let myself relax when he was out of the room and apologized to my parents quietly.

No one in the room said a word for a few moments, not knowing how to continue after Edward's outburst. My dad must have grown tired from the intensity of the silence so he smiled softly, leaned forwards and spoke.

"So hybrids?"

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_**Bella's POV**_

I let myself collapse onto the bed in my room, next to Ren, who was sitting with a book in her lap. I turned to look at her and realized that she had my sketch book open to the page that I had drawn Alice on. I groaned, wishing that she hadn't seen that. She turned to me and smirked before chuckling a little and shaking her head. She closed the book and leaned back so she was lying next to me.

"What did we do to deserve such a crazy life?" She asked, her lips still set in a small smirk. I shrugged a shoulder.

"If you figure it out, let me know," I mumbled. Ren turned her head to face me.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, softly. I sighed and decided that I was done with arguing right now.

"Everything aches, my chest feels like it's on fire still, my throat hurts…" I trailed off. Ren nodded her head slowly and bit her bottom lip.

"Bella, why have you waited so long for venom? _Nine_ months?" I shook my head and shrugged.

"I hate going there," I muttered, before running a hand over my face with the memories of what I've seen in Volterra.

"Yeah, well me too, but it's sort of a necessity for us," Ren countered. I sighed, knowing that she was right.

"Can we please not fight right now?" I practically begged. I was exhausted. Today was such a mess of a day. I flipped out on Alice, remembered things I've been trying to forget, told a _vampire_ about my past, and almost took a bullet for someone I just met. Ren nodded and the room fell silent for a few minutes. My mind wandered to Alice.

What was she doing right now? Would her family think of me as more of a threat now that they know? Not many vampires know that hybrids even exist. And the ones that do want us extinct. Subconsciously, my hand had wandered to my phone and Ren noticed.

"You get a phone number?" She asked, jokingly. I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Maybe," I muttered, smiling a bit as I remembered how Alice had put her number into my phone.

"Ooh, you're such a player," Ren sarcastically remarked. I shook my head, smiling, thankful that she was being lighthearted right now. She sighed and spoke seriously, "You're mates with a vampire, Bella."

"Yeah, I hadn't noticed," I responded, sarcasm dripping from my voice. Ren looked at me with an eyebrow raised. I sighed. "It's weird… I feel like I'm supposed to hate her. I'm supposed to want to kill her but the thought of anyone hurting her-" I forced myself to stop talking when I realized how upset just the thought of that made me.

"Are you gonna fight it?" Ren asked, curiously. What? Fight the mating? Yeah like that's even possible. I should want to fight it. I should want to deny the fact that I have any feelings for Alice, but I just don't think I can. Even if I tried, I know what would happen. She would go into a spiraling depression and I would soon follow. I shook my head slowly to answer Ren's question.

"What am I going to do?" I whispered. I couldn't just jump into a relationship with Alice. I wasn't ready for that. I mean, today was really the first day that I talked to her seriously before. Ren took a deep breath.

"You could just see how things go, you know? Try not to push her away as much … At least that's what I'm going to do with Jake. Screw you, by the way for telling him not to tell me about the imprint," Ren muttered, half-joking.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I just-" She cut me off.

"It doesn't even matter anymore, okay? I know now. From now on, just stop trying to protect me like that," Ren muttered, staring up at the ceiling. I nodded slowly and didn't respond. We were both quiet again for a moment before Ren whispered, "I almost kissed him." I looked up, shocked. "Alice called right before it could happen." I smiled a bit. It felt weird not to be mad or jealous at the thought of someone else being with Ren but I wasn't. I was happy that she and Jake had something. Without really thinking it through, I responded.

"I may have almost kissed Alice," I whispered, instantly regretting it as Ren spun around, her eyebrows raised high.

"_What?_" She asked, surprised. I shrugged and tried to explain what had happened.

"I dunno … when we were at the school, I had backed her up against a table … we were really close, but you pulled into the parking lot before anything could happen."

"Wow we both have really crappy timing, huh?" Ren smiled. I chuckled and yawned, feeling the exhaustion come over me. "You should get some sleep. You'll probably be bombarded with questions tomorrow." I agreed with her and hoped that I wouldn't be asked anything too personal. I scooted up the bed a bit and leaned my head against Ren's shoulder.

"I was wrong at the parking lot," I whispered. Ren sighed and started to protest what I was saying but I stopped her. "Just let me say this. You do have someone that loves you-"

"Bella," Ren sighed.

"_I_ love you," I responded quietly before yawning again and closing my eyes.

"I love you too, Bella," Ren mumbled as she ran her hand through my hair softly. I fell asleep quickly after that.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. I just wanted to take a second to answer a quick question that I've gotten:**

**Faith asked: _"in like chapter 9 or maybe 10 there was a reference to "him". You didn't tell us what u meant by "a monster like him" and i was wondering if u were planing or just forgot"_**

**Thanks for the review, by the way! I am definitely planning on revealing who "he" is. It's just another one of Bella's Dark Secrets (see what I did there?:P) at the moment anyway. It will be revealed soon though. Any ideas as to who "he" is and what "he" did?**

**Next Chapter: Can Bella really give Alice a chance? Edward's being Edward again (uh-oh). And a little game of twenty-questions anyone?**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Update time! Thanks so much for all the reviews guys! Huge thanks to Emma Lee Rose!**

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**Chapter 13**

_**Bella's POV**_

_The door creaked open, the hinges groaning in protest. I took a small step forward, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. Something was wrong. Something was _so_ wrong. I took another step into the house that I used to feel at home in. For some reason, I felt completely lost in the dark room._

"_Mom?" I called out, hoping for some comfort. The furniture had been turned upside down. The glass vase on the table next to the couch was shattered. It looked like someone had taken a jack hammer to my house. I swallowed the awful feeling of dread and walked further into what used to be my home but was nothing more than a bunch of walls._

"_Dad?" I had hoped for a response. Any sort of response but I got nothing. I stepped up the stairs as slowly as I could, despite the growing feeling that I should run far, far away from this place. I felt my blood run cold when a stair creaked under my weight but I forced myself forward._

_My parents' room was at the end of the hallway with the door slightly ajar. I cautiously brought my hand up, hoping that my parents would jump out and laugh and say it was all a big joke. As I pushed the large white door, my breath caught in my throat, my heart literally stopped and my entire body went numb._

_There were my mom and my dad. The people that raised me. The people that taught me right from wrong. The people that loved me unconditionally. Dead._

I jolted up in bed, a scream ripping through my throat. I felt Ren jump at the noise next to me as I jerked her awake too.

"Bella?" She gasped, looking around the room quickly for any type of threat. I whimpered loudly, feeling the tears spill over my eyes. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" She asked, slowly, obviously a bit relieved that we didn't seem to be in danger.

"It's my fault," I choked out. "I killed them." Ren was quiet for a moment and I would have thought that she didn't understand my rambling but I know she does.

"Don't say that," she whispered softly. She had brought her hand up but thought about it for a second before dropping it, knowing that right now is not the best time to touch me.

"It's all because of me," I whispered, broken. I killed them. I killed my parents.

"No," Ren spoke firmly now. "It is not your fault Bella. You-"

"It's my fault!" I screamed. "They're dead because of me! Because of the freaking monster I am, Renesmee!"

"Stop!" She ordered. "Do not put yourself through this." I shook my head and turned to her, knowing that I must look like a wreck. "Isabella Marie Swan," she started in a warning tone. "You are _not_ responsible for their deaths."

"Don't you get it?!" I yelled in her face, finally breaking down. In a way, it felt really good to get this off my chest. "He knew I was there! You know full well that our blood smells different-"

"Only to people that know about us," she interrupted.

"How do we know he didn't? It's my _fault_! If I wasn't this awful monster-"

"Damn it, Bella," Ren groaned.

"I-"

"No!" She screamed cutting me off and grabbing my arm, silently tell me to shut the hell up. I bit my tongue. "_You_ did not do anything wrong. _You_ did not kill them. It had nothing to do with what you are. He was a sadistic bastard. _He_ was. Not you. Now stop blaming yourself for something that was out of your control."

I was speechless after her rant. I mean, how do I respond to that? What she said made sense, but I still couldn't shake off that feeling that it was somewhat my fault though.

* * *

I woke up before Ren did in the morning. I rolled away from her slightly and stared at the ceiling, contemplating what I was going to do today. I know Ren had suggested giving Alice a chance and I agreed that it was a good idea but I was honestly a bit scared. I don't know if I can let her in. I don't know if I can trust her. I've already told her a lot but I've barely scraped the surface of who I really am. Will she still want to stick around when she learns about what I've done?

All I know at the moment is that I hated feeling like I did yesterday. Vulnerable. Sad. Pathetic. I took a deep breath and decided to push everything from yesterday out of my mind. I'm Bella Swan. I'm one of the few hybrids on this planet. I'm Alice's mate, yes, but that doesn't mean I have to be all lovey-dovey and crap. No. That's not me. I sighed and hopped out of the bed, careful to not wake up Ren.

_I am going to give Alice a chance_, I thought. _But I'm not going to pretend to be someone that I'm not. _

I took a quick shower and got dressed into a black V-neck t-shirt, a black leather jacket, and grey skinny jeans. By the time I exited the bathroom, Ren was awake and looking at me with a confused expression.

"What?" I mumbled. She raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "I'm gonna take the bike to school so you can have the truck." She nodded slowly before responding.

"Are you sure you're okay to go t-" I cut her off

"I'm fine," I snapped. Ren rolled her eyes as I had a sudden sense of déjà-vu. I sighed and tried again. "I'm okay, Ren. I promise." She nodded slightly but still looked unsure. I gave her what I hoped to be a reassuring smile as I grabbed my backpack and my keys. "Tell Jake sorry about yesterday!" I called up to Ren once I had walked down the stairs.

"Call me if you need anything," she murmured as she emerged at the top of the staircase. I nodded and winked at her before opening the door. I was met with the cool Forks air and I took a deep breath before walking over to my baby and pulling my leg over the seat. I felt the bike purr to life and the familiar rumbling sound filled my ears.

As I sped down the streets, I tried to keep my mind from wandering to Alice, but I couldn't help it. How am I supposed to act around her? Are we technically together now? Would I be okay with that?

Questions flew through my mind. When I finally pulled into the parking lot of the school, I couldn't stop my eyes from scanning the lot until they landed on the familiar set of flashy cars with the pale teenagers surrounding them. Alice's eyes caught mine first and she smiled softly. I forced my eyes away as I parked the bike. I shut the engine off, took off my helmet, slung my backpack on, and stood up off the bike. While I was doing this, a certain Cullen had made his way through the parking lot over to me. In the short second it took for me to turn away from my bike, he was in my face.

"I want you to stay away from my family," he ordered, a growl building up in his chest. I felt my hands start to tremble again a little but I forced a smirk on my face.

"And I want you to get out of my face," I remarked sarcastically. By now, the other Cullens had caught up to us and Alice was standing partially in the middle of us, but was really standing to the side since Edward was so freaking close to me.

"Edward," the bulky guy, Emmett, warned quietly. "We're in the middle of the parking lot. We don't want to cause a scene, do we?"

Edward didn't respond to his brother. His glare grew darker. I had to stop myself from faking a yawn. Even though I'm sure his reaction would have been hilarious, I did agree with Emmett in that I didn't want to create a scene.

"You heard what Carlisle said last night, Edward," Jasper chimed in. My smirk grew.

"Aw got told off by Daddy?" I mocked. Edward's lips twitched into a smirk.

"Edward don't-" Alice practically yelled next to me but Edward ignored her.

"At least I _have_ a father," Edward sneered. Now _that_ pissed me off. How _dare_ he bring up my parents. I felt my fist clench as I prepared to beat the shit out of him but a small, cool hand clamped down on my wrist. I tried to pull my arm free from Alice's grasp but I was only met with her soft eyes as she shook her head softly. I huffed and pushed myself as close to Edward as I could get, my eyes level with his and my nose less than an inch away from his.

"You are _so_ going to regret saying that," I managed to say in a dark, menacing tone. It must have shocked him a bit as his eyebrows twitched. Most of the other Cullens seemed to falter at my warning as well. Emmett snapped out of it and shoved Edward off of me before pushing his away and whispering harshly at him.

I felt myself relax considerably the further Edward got away from me. I kept my eyes glued to him until he and Emmett walked behind one of the school buildings. I continued to glare at the wall of the building for a few seconds until the bell rang, which snapped me out of it. I turned back and realized that all the other Cullens had left, other than Alice of course, who still had a good grip on my wrist. I looked down at her hand and sighed.

"Alice," I whispered. Her eyes snapped up to mine and the dark color softened quickly back into the liquid gold that suits her best. Her lips twisted into a little smile and her grasp on my wrist slackened. She didn't completely let go. No. She slid her fingers over my wrist, grazing my palm softly, before sliding her fingers over mine and dropping her hand back to her side. A little playful gleam came into her eyes as she did this and I shook my head before turning as I started to walk to class. Alice hopped over to me and walked next to me silently, our hands brushing every so often. I couldn't help but wonder if she was doing this on purpose, just to see how I'd react.

We made it into Mr. Mason's room just before the bell. I could tell he was a little upset at that but since we didn't technically break any rules, he couldn't punish us so he kept his mouth shut. We both walked to the back of the room and sat down.

Mr. Mason was giving a lecture today about themes in books and how to determine them. Since English is one of the easiest subjects for me, this meant this class would be boring as hell. I settled back in my chair and sighed. After a few minutes, I noticed how much my eyes were sticking to the clock. _This is ridiculous_, I thought. I let my eyes wander over to Alice, who was paying attention to the teacher. When she realized that my eyes were on her, she turned in her seat and looked at me with her eyebrows furrowed. I shrugged and shook my head. She continued to look confused as she grabbed her pencil, flipped to the back of her notebook and began writing. I thought she had started taking notes of what Mr. Mason was teaching but when she slid the notebook over to me, I realized that she had written a note for me.

_You okay?_

She had written in perfect cursive. I rolled my eyes. Of course she did. She's a freaking vampire.

_Yeah. Bored_, I wrote back and slid the notebook over to her. Her lips twitched as she read it and she started to write back.

_I know, me too. How many times have you taken this class?_ Well that's an odd question. I felt my eyebrows furrow as I thought about what she meant. I told her that I'm twenty-three. Maybe she thinks that means that I've graduated high school more than once. _She_ must have, then. Jeez she's ninety-two. How many times has she graduated? I decided to try and evade the question.

_We playing twenty questions?_ I hoped that she got the sarcastic undertone of that.

_You want to?_ Did I want to? I did have a few questions for her. But twenty questions entails questions for both sides. That means I might have to answer some. I must have been taking too long to respond because Alice pulled the notebook back and wrote more. _We don't have to._ After I read that, I looked up and was met with her golden eyes and a sincere smile. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my pen.

_Okay. But I have the right to pass._ Alice smirked when she read this. She looked up at me and nodded.

_We'll start easy then. Favorite color?_ She wrote perfectly. God, I envied her writing style.

_Really? Wow. Okay. Black. You? _Alice chuckled quietly at my response.

_Shocker. And yellow. Where's Renesmee today? _Why does she care? I bit my lip and wondered if I shouldn't tell her. I couldn't see any reason why I shouldn't.

_The reservation. She's talking to Jacob. How come Nettie doesn't come to school? _We're started to get deeper into the actual questions.

_She has a hard time with our "diet." And Jacob Black?_

_Yeah. And yes we know what they are. So your family really feeds on animals? _I slid the notebook back to Alice and watched her stiffen up slightly. She glanced around the room before responding.

_I told you we did. Barely anything but deer around here though. Why is she at the reservation? _I couldn't help but notice that she was seriously curious about where Ren was. I couldn't help but be a little suspicious.

_I told you, she's talking to Jake. Why do you care? _I know I practically just wasted a question but still. Alice huffed and I realized that she actually looked a little pissed off. She had that cute expression on her face.

_Are you still dating her? _Now I don't play twenty questions often but I'm pretty sure she was supposed to answer my question first. It took me a moment to realize that she _had_ potentially answered my question. She was worried that I was still with Ren. I could have played a bit with this fact but I didn't want to make Alice and more upset.

_No. She's with Jake, now. Jealous?_ I couldn't not have _any_ sighed but visibly relaxed.

_Well, she moves on fast. And no. Maybe. Shut up. When did you break up?_ I was smirking up until the question.

_Now that's not quite fair, see she's Jake's equivalent of a mate. Didn't really have a choice. And I can't exactly tell you a day. We got into a fight the night that we met your family. I guess then._

_How did your family take the explanation last night? _I had written quite a bit and when I passed it back to her, I could tell from her expression that she didn't think I'd write that much. I don't know why I told her about that fight. Now that I think back on it, we fought because I moaned out Alice's name. I just hope that she doesn't ask what cause the fight.

_My dad was really interested. He loves learning about new things. Everyone else was curious and slightly confused except Edward who threw a hissy fit. Sorry about him this morning by the way. What did you fight about?_ Well, shit. I bit my lip. I didn't want to have to pass on a question but I suppose I have to on this.

_It's not your fault. And pass…_ I handed back the notebook to her. Her eyebrows furrowed and she sighed rather loudly before looking up at me and pouting. My heart clenched and I almost gave in and told her. When she realized that I really wasn't going to tell her, she grabbed her pencil again.

_Bella_, was all she wrote. She gave me the notebook expectantly.

_Alice_, I responded with. She rolled her eyes.

_Fine. You either answer that question or tell me who your donor is_, she practically demanded through her writing. I huffed and responded.

_You know I can't do that._

_Then tell me what you fought about. _Who knew she was so stubborn? I just sat, staring at the last comment for a few minutes. Alice sighed loudly next to me again before taking the notebook and writing more. _Come on, Bella, please?_ She handed it back to me with that damn pout. I felt my jaw clench as I forced down a groan. I grabbed my pen.

_You._

_What about me? _I had just finished reading her question when the bell rang. Saved by the bell! Damn, that was good timing. I handed Alice her notebook as I gathered my stuff. I could tell she was still a little pissed that I hadn't completely answered her question. She shoved her stuff into her bag and reluctantly followed me to our next class. I was smiling the whole way.

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**A/N: Well what do you think? Please review and let me know if you want to see anything specific happen!**

**Next Chapter: Drama at Lunch**

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**Faith: Thanks so much for the reviews! I want to respond to them but your email isn't coming through (ffnet won't let you put up links). Could you try sending it again or make an account or something so I don't have to respond on the chapters?****  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hello there! Hope you all like this chapter! Things will start to mellow out a bit in this story and then, of course- Chaos! :) Huge thanks to Emma Lee Rose for being the best Beta! And thanks to Faith too for some awesome suggestions!**

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**Chapter 14**

_**Bella's POV**_

I walked into the cafeteria with a slight frown on my face. The rest of my classes up until now had dragged on. Not to mention the fact that Alice hadn't talked to me since English. Granted, the only other class we had together was Government, but it still made my smile disappear. She didn't seem particularly angry and I think that's why it's bothering me. Every time I had glanced her way during second period, I was met with her hurt expression. I'd shift in my chair and look away only to end up glancing back a few seconds later.

_Is this the whole mating thing? 'Cuz I freaking hate it._

I grabbed an apple and made my way towards my usual table. Angela's eyes met mine and she smiled and nodded to the seat next to her.

I really liked this Angela girl. She seemed to really care about other people. I can't say the same about the others at the table. Well, Eric's pretty nice. Damn, he and Angela would make a cute couple.

What am I, a matchmaker, now?

I shook my head quickly as I unsuccessfully tried to stop myself from looking up to the Cullens table. Somehow my eyes snapped to Alice's which looked a lot brighter now. Her lips twitched into a small smile before she looked away. I couldn't help but notice that Edward wasn't sitting with them. There was an empty seat in between Alice and that Jasper guy. It still bugged me a bit that some people thought they were together- Jasper and Alice. She's way too good for him.

_Wait, what?_

I sighed as I pulled out the chair next to Angela and tuned into the conversation they were all having.

"Have you ever seen them like actually eat though?" Jessica muttered quietly. She was obviously not talking to me but I did notice the direction in which she was so rudely staring.

Well, shit.

I was faced with a bit of a situation here. Do I sit down and pretend like nothing is going on? And let suspicion fall on the Cullens? On Alice?

Damn it.

I inwardly groaned as I pushed the chair back under the table without sitting down. I took a deep breath and wondering how I was going to do what I was about to do.

"I'll see you in bio, Angela," I murmured. She looked up and nodded with a confused expression. I turned around slowly, feeling like everyone's eyes were on me and started towards the table filled with the species I am supposed to detest. None of them noticed me at first. It wasn't until I touched the chair next to her that Alice looked up, shock crossing her features. The other Cullens followed in her actions as I rolled the apple out onto the table.

"People are starting to notice that you aren't eating," I mumbled quietly, attempting to make it look like I couldn't care less what they did. Neither one of them moved or responded as I forced myself to sit down in the chair. Quite a large portion of the cafeteria had quieted down as they realized that a non-Cullen had sat down at the Cullen table. This was what I was afraid off. I didn't want to draw more attention to them. I noticed Jasper's eyes scanning around a bit before he faked a smile.

"Ha Bella it's good to see you!" He exclaimed rather loudly. I felt my eyebrows furrow but then I realized what he was doing. He was trying to turn the attention off the table. His siblings caught on and they all smiled, except for the blonde, who grimaced and glared at me.

"Yeah Bells! How's it going?" Emmett chuckled, obviously having fun. I felt my eyebrows twitch at the nickname.

"Fine," I muttered, partially playing along while trying to ignore Alice as she watched my face with a smirk. The chatter in the cafeteria picked up a bit and I felt myself relax before I realized I was sitting next to a bunch of vampires.

"Well," I heard Alice sigh. "If no one else is going to..." She trailed off as she reached an arm out and grabbed the apple in her hand. She threw it up in the air a few inches before catching it and looking around the table to see if anyone else dared to eat it. I'm not an idiot. I know what happens to food when a vampire eats it. I also know it's not a very pleasant experience which is why I'm feeling a little bad for Alice. Only a little. "Here it goes." She brought it to her mouth, and I watched her take a small bite of the fruit. She did a pretty bad job of trying not to look disgusted. I felt a smile break out on my lips as I watched her.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Rosalie hissed suddenly from across the table. I bit my tongue to stop myself from snapping back at her and raised my eyebrow instead. She leaned across the table a bit as her glare grew darker. "Yesterday you blew up at _my sister_ and today you think everything's all peachy? Huh? You think you can just be all buddy-buddy with my siblings all because you spilled a few secrets to Alice?!" She spoke rather harshly but it did make a bit of sense. I was acting differently today.

"Rose," Emmett mumbled, putting his hand on Rosalie's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. It didn't really work. She didn't move an inch. I continued to bite my tongue, not wanting to cause any more attention to the table. I don't know why I wasn't just snapping back at her. Maybe it's because the way Rosalie had said "_my sister_" caught my attention. It almost sounded like she was trying to be protective instead of the idiotic claims Edward used to make.

"I don't like you," she spat. _Really? That's all she could come up with?_ I felt my lips curl into a bit of a smirk and I leant forward, towards her.

"That's fine," I whispered, making her eyebrows raise in a bit of a challenge. "Because I don't like you much either." She huffed and leaned back in her chair. I followed and ignored the sigh from Alice as I did so. Rosalie continued to glare at me from across the table and I met her glare which I think just pissed the blonde off more.

"So Bella," Jasper started slowly, obviously hoping to change the subject. "How did you meet Renesmee?" The randomness of the question made me turn my head towards him. Everyone else at the table turned as well. "Well, I mean, from the sound of it there aren't very many hy-people like you so I'm curious how you found another one," he explained his question. I rolled my eyes and considered telling them the story of how Ren had I had met. I made the mistake of meeting Alice's eyes. She looked hopeful with her eyebrows raised a little and a small smile on her face. I sighed and slumped a bit in my chair.

"After I… became what I am, I did a bit of research. During that time, I traveled around a bit." I took a deep breath. "Two years ago, I stopped in New York. I had never been there and had heard that it was supposed to be amazing. On about the third day there, I was walking back to my hotel. It was late at night and in not the best part of the city. I heard a scream from one of the alleys next to a bar so I ran over to see what had happened. I found Ren backed up into a brick wall with about four drunk guys surrounding her." I couldn't help but notice Rosalie's glare falter. "They were shouting crude comments and it pissed me the hell off so I kicked their asses. By that point, Ren had passed out. I brought her back to my hotel room and realized that she was… well…" I trailed off with a small shrug. _I realized she was like me_, I continued in my mind.

"How can you tell?" Emmett spoke up.

"Can you tell right now?" I asked, honestly curious if they could tell from the smell of my blood.

"I mean you smell different. Sweeter almost," Jasper mentioned. I heard a soft growl next to me that Alice covered up with a cough. When she looked up, I smirked at her and gave her a knowing wink.

"It's the venom," I muttered. "Only people that have a clue that something is different can tell though. It's not so much that anyone can tell before they actually realize what they're supposed to be looking for. Which in a way, I guess, is better. Safer."

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The volume in the cafeteria increased as people slid their chairs out and talked with friends as they made their way out of the cafeteria. The Cullens did the same. I had taken about three steps away from the table when a cold manicured hand grabbed my forearm, stopping me from walking. Before I could process who it was, Alice spun around, her eyes narrowing.

"Rose," she spoke in a warning tone.

* * *

_**Alice's POV**_

"Rose," I warned. I forced myself to not rip my sister's arm off for touching _my_ Bella. Rosalie had looked from Bella to me. In that short second, Bella had yanked her arm away from Rosalie's and had taken a step so she was toe-to-toe with my blonde sister. _Oh no_. I took a step towards them, silently praying that few students left in the cafeteria wouldn't hear the interaction.

"One, don't you _dare_ touch me," Bella practically spat at Rosalie, who wore her signature smirk.

"Two, what the hell do you _want_?" I couldn't help the swell of pride that Bella just gave me. I mean technically I should be pissed. She's practically threatening my sister. But I'm glad she's not stopping herself anymore. That was bugging me when she wasn't snapping back at Rosalie when we were at the lunch table. She wasn't being herself.

Rosalie clenched her jaw and sighed. "You…" She trailed off and tried again. "You-"

"I-I what?" Bella mocked. From a few feet away, I could see Rosalie's posture slack a little and it was then that I realized what this was about.

"You saved her from… those men…" She trailed off again. I watched Bella visibly relax and I relaxed with her. She must have realized what Rosalie was getting at too.

"I don't know if they would have done that," Bella murmured quietly, a huge contrast to the tone she had been using. Rosalie took a step away from Bella to put some distance between them. I took another step towards them, but this time it was to comfort my sister. Rosalie nodded slowly before her eyes met mine again. We held each other's gazes. I hoped my face said _I'm here for you_, but I couldn't be sure. After a few seconds, Rosalie looked away, took a deep breath and replaced her mask.

"I still don't like you," she said to Bella, who chuckled a bit. _Wow_, I thought.

"Right back atcha," Bella muttered. Rosalie glided past Bella and then me. As she passed me though, she smiled softly and gave me a wink.

* * *

_**Bella's POV**_

I was late to Biology because of the whatever-it-was with Rosalie. Mr. Banner was not happy. Especially since it was a lab day and my lab partner, Edward, wasn't here. Thank goodness.  
I ended up working with Angela which I was perfectly fine with despite the fact that she kept looking at me oddly. By about the middle of class I was sick of it.

"What?" I attempted not to snap at her harshly but I don't think it worked. Angela shrugged.

"Nothing. It's just," she trailed off. "You sat with the Cullens today."

"I know. I was there," I murmured sarcastically. Angela rolled her eyes.

"_Why_?"

"Is it really any of your business?" She frowned at this.

"No, I guess not. Sorry," she whispered the apology and I cursed the guilt that I felt because of it. I wanted to say something else but I wasn't sure what so I kept my mouth shut. What was I supposed to say?

_Oh well they're vampires and I'm half of one so we get along well_. Uh hell no.

_I wanted to take the suspicion off of them not eating_. Ha, that's what I keep telling myself, isn't it?

_I sort of have a thing for the little Pixie-like vampire_. Although I would never admit it, that is probably the closest reason as to why I did actually go to that table.

But instead of giving her any sort of explanation, I kept my mouth shut for the rest of class. It was better that way. Despite the frown etched on one of my only friend's faces.

When Art came around, I had to admit to myself that I had been looking forward to it all day. I walked into the room, early as always, to see Alice sitting on top of one of the tables talking to her "mother."

"Hello dear," Mrs. Cullen warmly said as I entered the room. Alice looked up and her face broke out into a smile.

"Uh hi," I mumbled. Mrs. Cullen had always said that to me when I walked into her room but today it sounded different. I assumed that all of Alice's siblings would know about the whole mating thing but I hadn't even thought about her parents. _Of course they knew_, I thought, feeling rather stupid. I made my way over to the table that Alice and I usually sit at, dropping my bag down with a thump and pulling the stool out.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I looked up to see Alice saying something quietly to Mrs. Cullen who smiled and looked at me. I squirmed a bit in my stool under her gaze as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. It was a text from Ren.

_You doing okay?_

I felt my lips pull up into a smile and I quickly responded to the text before class started.

_Yeah. Having fun with Jake?_

"Who's that?" Alice asked, curiously. I jumped and sighed when I realized it was her. How the hell did she make it across the room that fast?

Oh, vampire. Right.

"Ren," I answered, noticing how Alice's eyes darkened a bit at the name.

"Oh," she mumbled quietly, while looking down at her backpack. I rolled my eyes and looked up to Mrs. Cullen who was trying to get the class's attention.

"Alright everyone. For the next two days and most of next week, we'll be working on portraits. I would like you to all partner up and attempt to draw your partners face," Mrs. Cullen explained. Little did she know, I already had a great drawing of her daughter from a few days ago. I turned to Alice, already assuming we were partners but she was still looking down in her bag. I sighed and swallowed my pride.

"Partners?" Alice's head snapped up and her eyes met mine. She looked shocked for a second before the biggest grin spread across her face, making me smile. She nodded excitedly. I watched her pull out her sketchbook and stand up. I was about to ask her where she was going but she rounded the table and sat down across from me. It'd be easier to draw her this way. My phone buzzed in my pocket again. As Alice was pulling out her pencils, I checked the text message.

_You know it. ;) He says hi by the way. How's Alice? _

I looked up before responding but was met with Alice's frowning face. I felt my heart drop and I felt like I couldn't breathe for a second. She was upset. With me.

"Renesmee?" Alice asked, sounding sad. I nodded slowly.

"She asked about you," I muttered, hoping it would help. Hoping it would show her Ren wasn't bad.

"She ask if you got rid of me?" I felt my eyebrows furrow. Why would she think that?

"She asked how you were," I told her honestly. Alice looked at me disbelievingly and I sighed. I moved my phone under the table and tapped her knee. Alice looked down and took the phone from my hand, our fingers brushing. As she was looking down, Mrs. Cullen walked over.

"Alice, you know I love you," she started, leaning down to whisper to Alice. "But if the other students see you with a phone that I don't take away-"

"I know," Alice cut her off while passing my phone back to me under the table. "Sorry Esme," she said with a guilty little smile. Mrs. Cullen laughed quietly for a minute before winking at my partner and walking to the next table. "Sorry," Alice spoke softly. I looked up and shook my head. I took one of the pencils in between us and brought it to my sketchpad.

For the rest of class, Alice and I were quiet. I'd look up at her to check how her cheekbones went or how her hair looked at the moment to make sure my drawing was accurate. She did the same, I supposed. Every now and again, we'd catch each other looking at the other and smile before looking back down at the sketches in front of us.

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**A/N: So what do you think? Any ideas of what's to come? Please review!**

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**_Next Chapter: Alice asks Bella an important question_  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: So I'm missing the Super Bowl to update this story... Anyway huge thanks to Emma Lee Rose! See you at the bottom!  
**

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**Chapter 15 **

_**Bella's POV**_

Once the final bell rang, despite Alice's protests, I pushed my sketchbook back into my backpack.

"But I wanna see it," Alice whined, with her perfect little pout. I couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Nope," I muttered as I zipped up my bag.

"Please," she begged, jutting her bottom lip out more, sending thoughts into my head that I forced away.

"When it's done," I assured her. Alice gave me a look before rolling her eyes and following me out of the room. I was surprised as I neared my bike; Alice hadn't spoken a word since we were in the art room. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her constantly looking to me before setting her eyes on the ground. She looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't decide if she should. We reached my bike and I turned to Alice, sick of the silence.

"What is it?" I asked, attempting to stay patient. Alice looked up and bit her bottom lip nervously.

"Um… well…" She trailed off before taking a deep breath. "I was sort of wondering…" I sighed, wishing that she would just go on. "If um… if you wanted to… like kind of go out with me tomorrow?"

I cut her off.

"Why?" I snapped._ I didn't mean too. Honest._ I was just too shocked by her question that my mouth spoke before my mind could process. Alice's shoulders dropped and I ran a hand through my hair.

"I don't…" she mumbled and then tried again. "Isn't it the normal thing to do?"

"And what about our relationship is normal?" I asked, an eyebrow raised. I watched Alice's lips twitch into a small smirk that she tried to hide. I rolled my eyes and chuckled a bit. "You're making that face 'cuz I said 'our relationship,' right?" She looked up at me with a guilty gleam in her eyes and a smirk still playing at her lips as she nodded. I narrowed my eyes at her playfully.

"Sorry," she giggled. "I guess it was stupid to-"

"No, it's not stupid," I assured her. "It's just…" I sighed, trying to find a reason why I shouldn't go out with her. I had thought of something but the moment that my eyes met hers, any option of saying no to her flew out of my mind. _Oh hell_, I inwardly groaned. "Fine. Okay."

"Wait, really?" She asked, unbelievably. I looked passed her to her family who were all huddled around the bright red BMW. Edward had left and so had the silver Volvo. I should have known that was his car. _His sibling have awesome sports cars and he has a freaking Volvo._ I turned back to Alice and nodded slowly. Her eyes lit up, a huge smile spread across her lips and she practically hopped in place. I wasn't sure what to say after that so I grabbed my helmet and slid it over my head.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked. Alice nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep! Oh and text me tonight!" She muttered excitedly. I rolled my eyes and nodded, straddling my bike. "Bye," she practically whispered. I winked at her, revved the bike's engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

I was blasting music through the speakers in my room, to the point that I could barely think. I felt the muscles of my abs burning as I continued into my next hundred-set of sit ups. I saw the door of my room open slowly as Ren's head peeked through. She smiled softly at me and I nodded in recognition to her as I forced myself to continue. Ren walked over to the music player and turned the volume down. I groaned and rolled my eyes.

"Uh oh," she smirked. "You're blasting music and working out. What happened today?" Ren asked. God, she knows me too well. This is how I get my mind off of things.

"You're gonna have to be...," I paused as I sat up once more before laying back down on the ground for a breather, "...more specific. I don't know if you're referring to the almost fight I had with Edward, the fact that I was the center of attention at lunch when I sat with the leeches, or that I got asked out by a certain Pixie vampire."

"Well you've had a day, haven't you?" Ren asked, her eyes softening. I raised an eyebrow.

"You think?" I asked sarcastically. Ren rolled her eyes and lay down next to me on the floor, her head turning to face me.

"Start from the beginning?" She murmured quietly. And I did. I told her about everything that had happened today from the moment I left the house until she showed up. I felt a bit better after telling someone all of it. Ren has always been really good at dealing with me when I'm freaking out over nothing. "And you said yes to going on a date with her?" I nodded in response, not trusting my voice. I wanted to regret agreeing to go out with the vampire but I just couldn't. A thought occurred to me then.

"Does that bother you?" I asked slowly, slightly worried at the answer. Ren rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"No," she assured me. Her smile dropped suddenly and her teeth clenched. "But the whole Edward thing pisses me the hell off. You should've decked him."

"I wanted to, trust me. But people would have noticed. It was good that Alice stopped me," I paused for a moment, remembering what he had said.

_At least I _have_ a father._

I felt a wave of anger wash over me as I remembered his exact words. God, I cannot believe that he brought my parents into this. "If I so much as see him when there aren't people around-" Ren cut me off.

"I know," she started. "Believe me, I'd kick his ass too." She took a deep breath and her lips twitched up into a small smirk. "So, have you texted her?"

"Who?"

"The Queen of England," she snapped, sarcastically, before rolling her eyes. "Alice, you idiot." I bit my lip to stop the laugh at her joke and shook my head. "Oh c'mon!" She jumped up off the floor and grabbed my phone off the table. "If you don't do it, I will." I glared at her, smirked, and called her bluff as I stayed on the floor. She raised an eyebrow and pressed a few buttons on the phone.

"You won't," I warned. She looked over to me sheepishly and winked.

"I just did."

* * *

_**Alice's POV**_

After hearing Edward go on and on about how dangerous it was to allow Bella to be around, I retreated to my room. I was so sick of his comments about how she was manipulating our family and that her interest in me was just so she could get close. I rolled my eyes as I thought about that. It didn't even occur to him that I was feeling the same way. We had no control over it. But he didn't care. Someone was challenging him and he hated it.

I collapsed onto my comfortable bed and checked my phone for a text from Bella but there wasn't one_. I really should have texted myself from her phone when I gave her my number_, I thought. I heard a soft knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in," I said quietly, sitting up. The door opened slightly and Rosalie's face peeked through. She smiled a bit before stepping into the room and closing the door behind herself. She sat next to me, bringing her knees up and wrapping her hands around her legs. I smiled a bit at the sight.

To people outside of the family, Rosalie is the queen bitch. And, well, she totally can be. But to the people she does let in, my family, she is actually incredibly soft. Don't get me wrong, she can be an utter bitch when she's upset with you; but behind closed doors, Rosalie is just the girl who has a haunted past and barely trusts. When she trusts someone though, she trusts them with her life.

"You okay?" She asked softly, referring to Edward's ranting, I'm assuming. I shrugged and looked down. "He's being an asshole. Everyone agrees that Bella hasn't shown any kind of malice towards us other than defending herself." A loud growl came from the other room and Rosalie rolled her eyes. I nodded slowly. "I'm sorry about flipping out on her at lunch. It's just…" Rose trailed off.

"It's okay. I get it," I murmured, offering a gentle smile.

"And I just, you know, I don't want you to get hurt," she whispered. I knew she was just trying to be protective but my anger rose at her statement.

"Bella's not going to hurt me!" I practically yelled. Rosalie shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows.

"No, that's not what I meant. It doesn't have anything to do with what she is. I just, I don't want you to get hurt," she muttered before looking passed me and sighing. I heard my phone vibrate and I instantly looked down seeing that I had gotten a text. "Who's that?"

"It's uh…" I looked up at Rose and realized that I could trust her. "It's Bella. I gave her my number yesterday and told her to text me today."

"Let's see it then," she urged, smirking slightly as she moved a bit so she was next to me instead of across from me. I opened up the message and had to reread it about four times to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

_Hey sexy ;) It's Bella. _

"Whoa," Rosalie started. I gave her a look as she chuckled and looked away. "Text her back!"

"There's no way she texted that," I muttered mainly to myself. I saved the number into my phone and brought the message back up. How the hell do I respond to that? "I don't-" I was cut off with the phone vibrating again.

_Shit, sorry. Ren stole my phone._

I felt my lips tug up into a smile as I typed away a response.

_Did she now?_

"Damn, you've got it so bad," Rose muttered, smirking at my huge grin. I rolled my eyes at her. I watched Rosalie lean back against the pillows at the head of my bed. My phone went off again and I read the message, still aware of Rosalie reading over my shoulder.

_Yeah, I would never say that._

"Ouch," Rose whispered. I sighed and hated how sad I felt just from reading those six words. My phone went off again and I almost didn't want to look at it, worried that it would be another message that would make me feel like this.

_Not that you aren't sexy. Just that… oh shut up._

Rosalie's laughter mixed with mine and she shook her head slowly. "She's cute," she murmured. I looked over at her and she winked at me. An idea occurred to me then.

"I'm gonna tell her you said that," I warned. Rosalie's smile dropped into a frown.

"Don't you dare," she threatened, trying to grab my phone. I jumped up and tried to type as fast as I could. I managed to hit send right before Rose tackled me to the bed and grabbed my phone, quickly reading over the sent message.

_I'm sitting with Rosalie and she totally just said that you were cute_.

"Damn it, Alice!" Rose groaned before rolling off me. I knew she wasn't really mad. Probably just a bit upset that she may not be able to intimidate Bella as much now. I stuck my tongue out at her and laughed. She was about to respond but my phone vibrated again. She narrowed her eyes at me before looking at the screen and reading the text.

_I didn't think that was in her vocabulary_. Rosalie visibly relaxed at the text and I rolled my eyes.

"What? Happy she doesn't think you're a softy?" I joked, smiling largely. It was weird how happy a few texts could make me. Rosalie pursed her lips.

"It'll make it easier if I have to kick her ass," she murmured. I shook my head but continued smiling.

Bella and I continued texting for the rest of the evening. We only stopped around midnight because she had to get to sleep, especially since we had school in the morning. Rosalie stayed with me until she went out hunting around eleven. Nettie came in and checked on us too.

_My family's probably worried that I'll go flip out at Edward or something_, I thought. And believe me, there were a couple of moments that night that I really wanted to. I almost had once but right as I neared the door, my phone went off with another text and I felt the anger vanish from my mind.

_I don't know how this whole mating thing is going to work, I don't even know if it will, but I do know that I cannot wait to see Bella tomorrow morning_, I mused as I read through our conversation over and over again, until the sun came up the next morning.

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**A/N: So what do you think? Any ideas for what this date might be like? Or what they'll do?**

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**Next Chapter: A few clues are given about the date and Mike's being a jerk again!**

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**PLEASE REVIEW**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: DON'T KILL ME! I know this chapter is _long_ overdue. I've hit some minor writer's block that I'm trying to work through so _please_ bear with me!**

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**Chapter 16 **

_**Bella's POV**_

I opened my eyes slowly, fully aware of the weight on the lower part of my body. It took me a few moments to realize Ren has sprawled herself out, practically on top of me. I felt my lips tug into a small smile. I leaned, as much as I could, towards the table beside the bed to retrieve my cell phone, while attempting to not wake up the sleeping girl next to me. I checked the time and noticed that I had another text from Alice.

We had texted practically the whole night, well, until Ren made me stop to get some sleep that is. We had talked about random stuff. Neither one of us brought up the date we were going on tonight. Mostly it was just a few flirty comments. And it was fun. I caught myself constantly smiling.

_Good morning ;)_

That was all the text said, fully equipped with that freaking winking face. I rolled my eyes at that and typed a response.

_Morning. See you later?_

After I quickly hit send, I slowly pried myself away from Ren, who sighed and nuzzled her head into the pillow more. I got myself ready from school, purposefully leaving my phone so I could read the message once I was ready. I grabbed my stuff, wrote a short note to Ren, letting her know that I was going to school and that I didn't want to wake her up. I hopped down the stairs to the kitchen with a grin on my face and noticed that the phone was blinking with a voice-message. I pressed the play button and listened to the familiar voice as if was played out of the machine.

"Uh, hey Bells. It's Charlie. I think I kind of owe you an apology for … well … you know. I may not understand it. And you know how I feel about them in general. But … I guess if she make you happy or something," he paused for a second. "God, I don't even know what I'm saying. Just ... be safe. There's something weird going on in Seattle right now so stay close to Forks. Uh, I should be home this weekend," he stopped again for a moment and sighed. "Bye." The message stopped and I sighed. I felt my phone going off in my pocket, alerting me that I hadn't yet read Alice's text. I pulled it out and read the message while I walked towards my bike.

_You bet._

I smiled at the message and straddled the bike before starting the engine and relaxing at the familiar purr. It didn't take long to get to the school. As I pulled into the parking lot, I couldn't help but notice that the familiar flashy cars weren't parked where they usually were. I scanned the rest of lot and frowned when I realized they weren't here. I sighed, half-upset because Alice wasn't here and half-angry _because_ I was upset that they weren't here. I shut off the engine to the bike and slung my backpack over my shoulder. I had taken about two steps away from my baby before I caught sight of the familiar red BMW, a large Jeep, and a silver Volvo. I grimaced as I recognized the last car. As soon as the BMW was parking, the familiar little Pixie jumped out of the car and waved to me. I rolled my eyes at how excited she looked. She turned back around and bent over to grab her bag out of the car. I forced myself to turn away once I caught sight of her rear-end. By now, the other vamps had exited the cars and were talking to each other. I wasn't too far away from them, and I could just make out what they were saying.

"Well, we wouldn't have been so late if Alice had just decided what to wear!" Rosalie snapped at one of her brothers.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Alice defended, when she stood back up again.

"Uh-huh," Emmett sarcastically remarked, smirking. "Like we all don't know you're dressing up for someone." I felt my lips pull into a small smile at their bickering. I heard my phone go off in my pocket again, and I pulled it out, seeing that Ren was calling me.

"Hey," I spoke into the receiver.

"Hey," she started. "You got that date tonight, right?" I sighed and turned towards the school buildings, away from the vampires.

"Yes," I mumbled. Ren chuckled on the other end, still sounding rather tired.

"Okay. Jake invited me to some bonfire thing tonight, apparently it's like some Quileute tradition. You mind if I go?" She asked, yawning after she spoke.

"No, go ahead. Have fun," I murmured, pursing my lips. I was so not used to this feeling of being fine with her going out with someone who was not me. I can be incredibly possessive.

"You too," she started, and I just knew she was going to say some smart-ass comment next.  
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Oh, please, like you haven't already made-out with Jacob a dozen times," I joked. She gasped dramatically and I chuckled.

"I am not that easy! It's only been twice!" I laughed along with her. "I'll talk to you later, Bella. Give her a chance."

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled before disconnecting the call. I stuffed my phone back in my pocket, happy with how easily my relationship with Ren has fallen back into the comfortable friendship.

"Was that Ren?" A voice spoke behind me. I was not expecting that and had been too engrossed in conversation I was having before to notice anyone behind me. I jumped and spun around.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed, shocked. Alice smirked a bit and bit her bottom lip with a cheeky expression. "Don't do that," I chastised. She giggled.

"Sorry." I rolled my eyes and started for class.

"You're not sorry," I fake grumbled. Alice giggled again and playfully shoved me with her shoulder. I turned to her and pretended to gasp in shock. Her smile grew as she tilted her head to the side. Most people in the classroom turned to see us walk into the room, confusion evident on their faces. Even Mr. Mason's eyebrows furrowed. I tried to ignore all of them, but I felt my smile drop with every step towards my seat. By the time I slumped into my chair, Alice was looking at me with a concerned expression. She offered a small smile when her eye caught mine.

"I'm excited about tonight," she whispered, once Mr. Mason started his lesson, watching my reaction closely. I took a deep breath and leaned towards her a bit, so our conversation wouldn't be overheard.

"Yeah, what do you want to do?" I asked. It was killing me that I didn't know what we were doing. I felt like I should be planning the thing but I really didn't know any nice places to take someone, other than the tiny little diner. Alice smirked.

"Oh no," she started, her eyes shining. "I'm the one who asked you out. I make the plans." I rolled my eyes at her and nodded.

"As long as it's not some romantic comedy movie," I replied quietly as I watched Mr. Mason attempt to get the projector working.

"Damn that was my plan," Alice sarcastically remarked before shaking her head. "No, I've got an idea."

"Care to expand on that?" Her smirk grew.

"Nope," she murmured, popping the "p" sound. I sighed and sat back in my chair, realizing that I had leaned quite close to her.

* * *

"Is it true, Bella?" Mike questioned, already pissing me off and I had only been in the goddamn cafeteria for three minutes. I refused to answer his question. I also tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to not look in the Cullen's direction. Alice's wink and smirk made me turn back quickly.

"What are you on about, Mike?" Angela asked as she sat next to me, in between myself and Mike.

"Tyler's saying that he heard Alice Cullen ask Bella out yesterday," Mike explained. I felt my jaw tighten. Angela sighed loudly.

"First of all, Tyler is not the most credible source. Second, it's Bella's business who she goes out with, not ours," Angle defended. I looked at her, shocked at what she said. I would have expected her to be pissed off at my behavior yesterday. If I was her, I definitely would be. Mike rolled his eyes and turned to talk to Jessica.

"Thanks," I mumbled to Angela. She looked at me, expressionless and nodded. I was going to leave it at that but that stupid nagging feeling in the back of my mind wouldn't let me. "I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday."

"It's okay," she mumbled, looking down at her lunch. I sighed quietly.

"No, it's not. You're kind of my only friend here and I was a bitch to you," I told her honestly. She turned to face me and smiled softly. "Look, I'm not great at having friends and whatever. So, sorry." She nodded, and her smile grew.

"It's fine. Do you want to hang out tonight or something? I could really use some help in Bio," she offered. I was about to accept but I remembered the date.

"Uh, I can't tonight. Tomorrow?" I asked, hoping she'd agree.

"Sure," she smiled. "I'll text you." We exchanged numbers and I was actually excited for our little study session. Maybe I could find out some more information about the Cullens from her. And maybe I could actually have a normal friendship.

* * *

Last period rolled around rather quickly. Mrs. Cullen gave me a gentle smile when I walked into the room, along with a "hello, dear." I nodded in response and walked over to my seat. As I pulled out my sketch book, I felt the sensation that I was being watched. Knowing who it was, I smiled and sat back up again, my eyes meeting the familiar gold.

"Hey," she murmured.

"Hey, yourself," I started. "So, you're really not going to tell me what we're doing tonight?" Alice smirked and rose an eyebrow.

"You're really not used to not being in control, are you?" She asked. I chuckled.

"I guess."

"And no, I'm not going to tell you."

"But, why?" I asked, attempting to pout but I just knew it wouldn't be as effective as her cute little pout. Her eyes dropped down to my lips and I perked up a bit, carefully watching her. Her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips, her eyes returning to mine.

"Just make sure you dress in comfortable clothes," she mentioned. Comfortable clothes? What? Does she think I'll show up in a freaking dress or skirt? So not my style, in case she hadn't noticed.

"You gotta give me something more than that," I practically begged for any type of hint as to what we were doing tonight. Alice's lips twitched into a little smirk again.

"Bring a jacket," she murmured, her eyes holding mine. I felt my eyebrows furrow in confusion.

A jacket?

Alice and I chatted, back and forth, about nothing in particular for the rest of class as we worked on our portraits. She asked me multiple time if she could see my drawing, but I insisted on not showing her until it was complete. When the bell rang, we both packed up and were the last to leave the classroom.

"Bye, dears," Mrs. Cullen called after us. Alice and I walked in silence to my bike. It was a comfortable silence, although it did make me realize something.

I was going on a date.

With a vampire.

I was going on a freaking date, with a freaking vampire.

Shit.

"I'll pick you up at seven?" Alice asked. I could only nod and watch her walk towards her siblings as these thoughts invaded my mind.

I was going on a date with Alice Cullen.

* * *

**A/N: What do you think? Is Bella going to freak out? Is the date going to happen? Where are they going to go?**

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**Please review and let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for what you want to/think should happen!**

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**Next Chapter: Bella and Ren get ready for their dates...**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Sooo new chapter here! This is the first part of the date! Hopefully you all like it! Giant thanks to Emma Lee Rose. See you at the bottom!**

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**Chapter 17**

_**Bella's POV**_

Shit. Shit. Shit. What the hell was I thinking? Going out on a date with a vampire?

_A cute vampire_, a small voice in the back of my head said.

_Oh shut up._

I hopped off my bike after I pulled into Charlie's driveway. Ren was still here. I could tell because the giant red truck was still parked. I shoved the front door open and ran a hand through my hair. It was only about three now. Alice wouldn't be coming for another four hours.

I'm going on a date with a vampire. _With Alice._ I should be trying to find a way out of it. I should be so against even the thought of going out with her. So why the hell am I so damn nervous?

"Bella?" Ren called before walking to the top of the stairs.

"Yeah," I mumbled, letting her know it was me. I leaned against the wall, wishing that the butterflies in my stomach would go away. I am so not used to feeling like this. Why did I say yes to this date again?

"You okay?" Ren asked as she descended the stairs. I nodded slowly, not really sure of the answer to her question. Was I okay?

"I'm going on a date with Alice," I muttered. Ren looked confused for a second before a small smile spread across her lips and she hopped down the last step and walked over to me.

"Yep," she responded, her smile growing. "You wouldn't be freaking out, now would you?" She asked with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at her.

"No," I said disbelievingly. Ren raised an eyebrow and I sighed. "Maybe. Yes. Shut up." Ren chuckled and grabbed my hand before she started pulling me up the stairs.

"So! We only have a few hours until I have to go meet all of Jake's friends, yikes. And you get to have your date with the cute blood-sucking pixie," she explained. I flinched at the 'blood-sucking' part. Could I really go through with this? I hate vampires. Don't I? "You _so_ need to help me figure out what to wear!"

And for the next three hours, Ren and I helped each other prepare for our evenings. Ren had picked out some black skinny jeans and a v-neck grey top for me and an outfit very similar for her except the colors were brighter. I told her about Alice's little hint with the jacket and that sparked the game of trying to figure out where the hell she was taking me.

"It could be anywhere. We're in Forks, you know," Ren had mentioned. Ren smirked a bit then. "Or maybe she's planning on getting really close to you tonight and she doesn't want you to get cold." I nudged her with my elbow after that comment. We were both quiet for the next few minutes as I watched Ren mess around with make-up.

"Hey be careful tonight, okay? I know the shape-shifters don't really like vampires. I don't know how much they'll like half of one," I told her. She turned to me, looking thoughtful before grinning.

"Okay, Bella," she said slowly before turning back to the mirror in front of her to apply more mascara. "Is it stupid that I'm nervous? I mean, I've already met most of Jake's friends. It's just this whole campfire thing is like a tradition. I almost feel like I'm intruding," she explained to me.

"Nah. Jake invited you. He wants you there. Maybe you'll learn some more about the tribe too," I told her, hoping to calm her down. Ren was quiet for minute.

"His dad's really nice," she said quietly.

"Yeah, Billy's great," I responded. Most of my childhood was spent in Forks before my family moved to Phoenix. The Blacks had been very close family friends. They are still. Charlie and Billy still get together to watch games. When Ren spoke next, she talked cautiously, watching my reaction out of the mirror.

"I was talking to him a few days ago," she started. "He said he knew your dad." An ache in my chest arose at the comment but I didn't respond. I just looked down at my hands and sighed. "He told me that your dad was always talking about you. About how proud he was of you."

"Stop," I begged quietly. Ren bit her lip and looked down.

"I really wish I could've met him. He's the kind of father I've always wanted," she muttered. Ren had been dropped off at an orphanage when she was very young. She didn't have a clue who her parents were or why they didn't want her. We were both silent for a while after that. I didn't know what to say really. Pictures flashed in my mind of my father: the day he taught me to ride a bike, the day he took me to my first baseball game, the countless times that we would spend watching TV together or practicing for his next game. He loved baseball. When he got a place on an actual team, he was ecstatic.

I was brought out of my past with the sound of Ren's phone ringing. She picked it up and held it to her ear.

"Hello?" Her voice wavered and I could see how red her eyes were in the mirror. "Yeah, okay Jake. I'll see you in a few minutes." She set her phone back down and I pushed myself up, walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my chin on her shoulder. We looked at each other silently through the mirror, not needing to say anything. After a little bit, Ren smiled back, packed her stuff away and started for the stairs. I followed her.

"What time do you think you'll be back?" I asked her softly. She shrugged and took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure. Don't wait up though," she muttered before winking at me. I shook my head and chuckled. I watched Ren walk through the front door as Jacob drove up to the driveway. He got out of the car, opened the passenger side door for Ren and waved to me. I waved back before shutting the door. It wouldn't be too much longer until Alice came. My stomach was still fluttering. Whether it was with nerves or excitement, I wasn't sure.

* * *

The doorbell rang at exactly seven. I shook my head and smiled at how punctual she had to be. I pulled the door open and smiled as my eyes hit the familiar golden ones. She grinned up at me.

"Hi," she whispered. I smiled in response and smirked when I noticed her look at what I was wearing. "You look nice. You bring that jacket?" I rolled my eyes and held up my black leather jacket. "C'mon," she nodded her head towards the black Mercedes parked on the drive way. I felt my eyebrows raise in shock at the car. They had never driven that to school before.

"It's Carlisle's," she explained as I locked up the house and followed her to the gorgeous car. She opened the door for me to get in and I slid into the leather seats. I watched Alice walk around the front of the car and since there was barrier of glass in between us, I let my eyes take in what she was wearing. She actually had a very similar outfit to me, only she had a long sleeved, bright red blouse on. She hopped into the driver's seat, started the car, and smiled at me before backing out of the driveway and starting down the street.

"I'll be honest, I kind of thought you would cancel tonight," she muttered. I sighed and bit my lip for a moment before shrugging.

"I probably should have," was all I said in response. Alice's lips twitched. "So, are you going to tell me where we're going now?" She smirked.

"First we're going to get something to eat."

"And I needed a jacket for that?" I asked, confused.

"The jacket's for what we do afterwards," she muttered.

"Ooh cryptic," I murmured. She shook her head slowly, her smirk growing.

"What did you expect?" I smiled and looked out of the window. It was then I realized how fast she was driving. I turned back and leaned towards her, not missing how she tensed up a bit, to see the speedometer. She was easily going double the speed limit. Her eyes caught mine and she rose an eyebrow as if challenging me to comment on it. But she was a vampire. And if anyone would know how unlikely it is that we would get in a car crash, it was me. I leaned back in the seat and sighed.

"So you're really not going to tell me what we're doing?" I asked.

"This really bugs you, doesn't it?" She asked. I shrugged and refused to tell her that it did indeed bother me. She was right. I wasn't used to not having the control. Whenever Ren and I would go out, I was the one who planned it out. "Just let me worry about it." I sighed but relented. We were both quiet again for a while. It wasn't a tense silence though. It was definitely not what I thought being on a date with a vampire was like. I watched as Alice pulled into the parking lot of La Bella Italia. I turned to her with an eyebrow raised.

"Really?" Alice smiled nervously and shrugged a shoulder.

"I dunno. We didn't really get off to a good start. I thought eating here would kind of fix that," she explained. The last time I had been here was to meet her family, back when they thought I was dangerous. Well, they still do. That's good though. Because I am. Alice sighed and shook her head quickly. "No. You're right it was stupid. I'm-" I cut her off and opened my door.

"I never said it was stupid. C'mon, I'm hungry," I muttered and hopped out of the car. Alice sat still with a confused look on her face for a few seconds before shaking her head and climbing out of the car herself. We walked, side-by-side, into the restaurant, our hands brushing more than once. I swore I felt her fingers twitch towards mine as if she was holding herself back from grasping my hand. Alice walked over to the hostess.

"We have a reservation under Cullen," she informed the woman, who nodded and flipped through a binder in front of her.

"Right this way," she said. Alice and I followed her to a small table in the corner of the restaurant. Nothing had changed from the few nights ago we had been here. Thinking back on it, this week had felt like forever. I'd only been in Forks for seven days. One week. And all of this crap had happened. And now I'm on a date with Alice.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked quietly, watching me with concerned eyes. I hadn't even noticed the hostess leave. I nodded quickly and sat down opposite Alice who seemed a little tense now.

"Just thinking about how all of this happened so fast," I told her. She looked a bit shocked that I was explaining this. I guess in the week I've been here, I haven't really been that honest with her. Until recently, that is. "It's only been a week. Not even that. I bumped into you last Saturday at the store." I didn't miss the small grimace on Alice's face at that comment. "And now it's Friday. So much has happened in just a few short days." Alice nodded thoughtfully.

"Is that a bad thing?" She asked, looking rather fearful of the answer. I sighed and relaxed in the chair. I never would have thought I'd be on a date with a vampire, let alone relaxing in an Italian restaurant with one.

"No. I guess not," I told her truthfully. Her lips twitched into a small smile. She opened her mouth as if she was going to respond but didn't. I was confused about that until the waiter arrived a few seconds later. I tried to hide the fact that I rolled my eyes at the future-seeing pixie. The waiter mumbled his introduction and asked us if we'd like to order. It then hit me that Alice doesn't eat. How the hell are we going to fake this? Alice must've seen the look on my face.

"Can we have another minute?" She asked politely. The waiter looked at her, his eyes widening. He straightened up his posture and smiled. I felt my fists clench under the table.

"Y-yes, of course," he stuttered like a dumb hormonal teenager. He stuck around for a few more seconds before walking away. My glare followed him until he went out of my sight. I turned back at a giggling Alice. She rose an eyebrow in question but I refused to respond to that

Instead, I changed the subject.

"Why did you take me to a restaurant if you're not going to eat?" I asked, my voice coming out harsher than desired. Alice's smirk didn't disappear as she shrugged a shoulder.

"Isn't it the normal date-thing to do?" She asked.

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure this isn't a _normal_ date," I whispered in response. Alice thought for a moment.

"You order whatever you want and we'll "share," okay?" I was about to tell her that would never work but the stupid waiter just had to show up to drool over Alice some more.

"Are you ready?" He asked her. It was quite ironic how he was directing the question to her yet no piece of food would touch her mouth. The only thing that was keeping me from snapping at the guy was the fact that Alice paid him no attention. She watched me with a small smirk on her lips.

"Do you know what you want?" She asked me quietly. I took a deep breath and nodded. I forced myself to order calmly.

"Uh, can I have the mushroom ravioli?" The boy turned to me and looked rather surprised.

_Yeah, I'm here too_, I thought bitterly.

"Actually that sounds good. Wanna share?" Alice asked with a small glint in her eyes. I felt my lips twitch because I was in on the joke.

"Sure," I muttered.

"Okay. I'll be right back with that," he told Alice. I swallowed a growl and clenched my jaw tight. Alice's smirk grew and I glared down at the table for a second before blinking hard and taking a deep breath.

"You're starting to feel it, aren't you?" Alice asked slowly. I looked up, confused. "The whole mating thing," she clarified. I sighed and bit my bottom lip. Was this all because of that?

"I think so," I told her, honestly. She smiled softly and nodded thoughtfully.

"Me too," she admitted. I felt my eyebrows furrow.

"I thought it was supposed to take longer." I'd done my fair share of research into the mating of vampires. Especially since _him_. I knew a good deal about mating in general.. Like how the protective instincts arise. And how hard it is to leave a mate for even a short period of time. I knew full-well what I was getting myself into. But it didn't seem like I had much of a choice. I knew that if I did fight this connection or bond or whatever the hell you want to call it, the end result would be devastating. Not only for Alice and my emotions and overall well-being but for the people around us.

"Like you said before, nothing about us is normal," she muttered. I could tell that she was just waiting for me to freak out about this. I could see it in her eyes. She was keeping her distance and I couldn't stop my heart from aching at that thought. But I understood why. Every time she'd actually tried to talk to me about this, I'd blown up in her face.

"Yeah," I trailed off. Nothing about us was normal. I wasn't normal to begin with. And me mating with a vampire?

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be sitting here, across from an adorable, spiky-haired, future-seeing vampire, I would've probably kicked their ass.

"Can I ask you something?" Alice asked quietly as she leant towards me a bit. I sat up and smirked.

"You just did," I commented. She rolled her eyes at me and looked down at my hand which was holding my glass of water. Her golden eyes met mine again.

"You said that you felt a sort of tingling feeling whenever we touched," she spoke cautiously as she reached her hand out slowly. I didn't move. I just watched as her hand got closer and closer to mine on the glass. "I just… I feel it too," she explained softly. I took a deep breath as her finger traced mine. The feeling she was speaking of shot through my whole hand and up my arm. How is that possible? "I figure it's just a mate thing," she muttered and traced another finger. My heart pounded in my chest and I looked up, meeting her eyes. We were so lost in our interaction that we didn't notice the damn waiter come back. He set the plate down in the middle of the table, forcing both of us to lean back a bit and break our eye contact.

"There you go," he said, sounding happy. I couldn't stop the next growl that rumbled through my chest. Luckily it wasn't too loud but if he had stuck around for a few more minutes, I'm sure it would have gotten worse. I'm not sure what I was expecting to happen next, but it definitely wasn't Alice reaching over the table and fully taking my hand into hers. I was so distracted from the shock of the contact and the tingling that jolted my whole body that I momentarily forgot about the stupid boy ogling my date.

"Can I get you anything else?" He asked, bringing me back. Before I could snap at him, Alice responded.

"No, we're fine," she muttered. He looked rather reluctant to leave but he nodded and turned away. I mumbled a few not-so-nice comments and took my fork, stabbing a piece of the pasta roughly. Alice turned my left hand in hers so my palm was up and she started tracing random patterns into it.

"Stop grumbling," she whispered as she focused on our hands. I sighed and didn't respond. We didn't talk much while we ate. Well, while I ate. Every now and again, Alice would pick up her fork and stir it in the bowl a bit before resting it against the side and going back to playing with my hand.

A small part of me wanted to take my hand back but another part, a larger part, liked what she was doing. It was simple and easy. And although I hated to admit it, it calmed me down.  
As dinner came to an end, I excused myself to go to the restroom. My hand felt almost numb from all the tingles. Alice smiled at me, told me she'd get the bill and meet me by the door. I argued with her about the check for a second but she wasn't having any of it so I rolled my eyes and walked away.

When I walked out of the bathroom and to the doors, I noticed Alice wasn't where she told me she'd be. I peeked my head into the restaurant again and saw her. She wasn't facing me so I could only see her tense back as the stupid waiter was talking to her. She was shaking her head but he kept talking. I felt my teeth clench and I did what I did next without really thinking. I could have gone over and yelled at him or better yet, punched him, but I knew Alice would be pissed at that. So I did what I knew would get the same point across without causing too much of a scene. Hopefully, it would make him feel like an idiot too.

I walked up behind Alice slowly, listening closely to what the guy was saying. He hadn't noticed me yet. He was too into the conversation they were having.

"Come one, just one date. I promise-"

Alice interrupted him. "I really can't-"

He went on and Alice sighed in frustration. This only furthered my anger. I couldn't wait to see his face when I did this.

"-It'll be fun! One date that's all I'm asking. I just…" He trailed off when his eyes caught mine. I smirked at him for a second. Alice realized he was looking behind her so she started to turn around but I caught her as she did. I slipped my arms around her waist and nuzzled my face into her neck. I heard her curse quietly.

"This guy bothering you?" I asked into her shoulder.

"Hmm, what?" She asked, obviously side-tracked. I felt my smirk grow and I pulled away from her neck to run my nose up her throat so my mouth was right by her ear. I spoke loudly so the ass-hole in front of us would hear.

"I said is this guy bothering you, baby?" Alice's eyes fluttered closed and she bit her bottom lip before shaking her head slowly and subconsciously leaning back into me.

"I-I'm sorry. I d-didn't-" The idiot stuttered in front of us. I swallowed another growl. I turned to him and rose an eyebrow in challenge. "I-I'm gonna leave. I'm s-sorry." I watched him go, feeling better every step he took in the opposite direction. Once he was out of sight, I relaxed. Alice shoved me off of her and looked at me, confused.

"What the hell was that?" She demanded. I shrugged and felt my face heat up a bit. _Damn you, blush._

"I don't know-"

"Well, it was mean," she grumbled and started walking towards the doors of the restaurant. I felt my lips twitch back into a smirk.

"To him? Or to you?" Alice's steps faltered for a second before she pushed the door open. I followed her outside. She spun around and continued to walk backwards towards the car.

"Both," she admitted, narrowing her eyes at me. I winked at her. She rolled her eyes and turned around. She opened the passenger side door for me.

"So, where are we going next?" I asked her, remembering that she had told me to bring a jacket for what she had planned after dinner. It was Alice's turn to smirk then. She shrugged.

"Oh I'm definitely not going to tell you after that," she taunted.

"Oh please, you loved it," I flirted. It was also Alice's turn to wink at me before she closed the door and walked around the car.

Oh this was going to be a long night.

I can't wait.

* * *

**A/N: What do you think? Anyone like a little jealous Bella? Think Alice should find out what it feels like? I was kinda disappointed with the number of reviews for the last chapter. I know I haven't been updating as frequently but life's been crazy and I want to make sure these chapters that I do get out are good. So please review this chapter! Let me know what you think! And if there's anything you want to see happen!**

* * *

**Next Chapter: Part 2 of the date... where are they gonna go?**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Okay. Please don't be mad about the long wait. The truth is, I wrote this about a week ago but I honestly haven't had the time to post it up. I hope that you all like this chapter. Shout out to Faith for the idea for the second part of their date. And giant thanks to Emma Lee Rose! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 18 **

_**Alice's POV**_

My body was still tingling from when Bella had come up behind me. She had wrapped her arms around me like we were freaking lovers. _And I couldn't even complain, could I?_

'Cuz I loved it.

Feeling her nuzzle her face into my neck, her body pressed up against my back, her warm breath against my face, I had been in heaven. And when she ran her nose up my throat? I felt like I'd melt right there in the middle of the restaurant. _How did she have this much of an effect on me? Why couldn't I have this much of an effect on her? Did I?_

I kept replaying the little scene from the restaurant over and over in my mind. Her calling me baby. Her growling quietly into my skin. My eyes rolling into the back of my head. I had to bite my lip for fear of moaning for god's sake.

And this was only our first date.

It wasn't real! I know that! But I couldn't help but hope that it would be real one day. I couldn't help but wish that our relationship would become something like that. Because I don't know what I'd do if it didn't. I got a taste of what I wanted us to be like. And it was all up to her really. It was all up to whether or not I could gain her trust. Would she ever truly let me in?

_**Bella's POV**_

Alice had been silent in the car for the past ten minutes. I was slumped in the passenger seat, my head rolled towards my date. She had started biting her lip again and hadn't stopped since the beginning of the ride. It was killing me and I hated it. I hated this growing desire in me to just lean over and press my lips to hers. She was obviously deep in thought and I didn't know if I wanted to interrupt those thoughts or sit here being tortured by that damn lip.

"Alice," I whispered. I wasn't sure why I spoke so quietly. Maybe I didn't want to break the silence harshly. Her eyes snapped to mine and I swallowed at the darkened gold color.

"Yeah?" She asked as she spun back to look at the road in front of us.

"You okay?" I asked. Why were her eyes so dark? Oh shit. Was she seriously mad at me about the whole waiter thing? I felt my shoulders slump at the thought. Alice gave a weak attempt at nodding and I sighed. "I'm sorry." Her eyebrows furrowed and she turned to me for a second with a confused expression.

"For?"

"For the thing with the waiter. I shouldn't have-" Alice cut me off.

"I'm not _mad_ about that," she muttered.

"Oh," I said, rather shocked. I wasn't sure what to say to that and she didn't either. We were both quiet again until Alice pulled into another parking lot and parked the car in front of a large warehouse looking building that had a blue neon sign saying, "Port Angeles Ice Rink." Alice turned to me as I made the connection. I looked back at her and noticed how unsure she looked.

"Ice skating?" I asked, confused. She wanted me to go ice skating with her? Who the hell does that on a date? Alice shrugged and bit her lip again.

"I dunno. You said no movies," she murmured with a small hopeful smile. That's true; I did say that. I took a deep breath and nodded as I grabbed my coat.

"I don't know if I can do this," I told her honestly. Alice's smile vanished and she nodded grimly.

"Okay. Yeah. I-um I'll just take you home then," she whispered and started the engine again.

"What? No, I meant I've never done this before," I explained to her. Alice looked shocked as she shut off the car.

"You've never been ice skating?" She asked me. I shrugged.

"My dad always used to take me to sports games so the closest I've ever gotten to it was probably at a hockey game," I explained. Then I realized that I had just spoken about my parents. To Alice. And I didn't freak out. Alice had an expression that matched my thoughts but she didn't comment on it. She just smiled.

"C'mon." She hopped out of the car and walked into the building with me by her side. As we got closer to the doors, I heard the sound of music getting louder. Alice opened the door for me and I walked in with her close behind. Music was blaring through the speakers. This place seemed like a mix of a club and an ice rink. We walked into a small lobby area. I could see a few stalls behind the front desk, one with skates and the other with food. There were a few arcade games set up too. The place had quite a few people there already and I couldn't even see the ice. I was so busy taking everything in that I didn't see Alice walk over to the guy at the desk and hand him money. I rolled my eyes and swallowed my protest when Alice rose an eyebrow and smirked back at me. I followed her back towards the stall with what looked like hundreds of skates hung up on the walls. The girl behind the counter was already helping a couple so Alice and I stepped into line behind them.

To my left there were huge glass walls that I assumed separated this area and the ice rink. I had been to a rink before to watch hockey with my dad, like I told Alice; so I knew there was most likely bleachers or something on the side of the rink. If I strained my neck a bit, I could see a few people gliding around on the ice. I bit my lip. _Would I be able to do this?_ Again, I got so lost in my thoughts. I didn't realize the couple in front of us had moved and the girl behind the counter was looking at me with shock written all over her face.

"Bella?" I turned at the sound of my name and froze.

"Angela," I noted. Okay. Not only was I on my first date with a freaking pixie-like vampire, but someone from school _just had_ to see me there, didn't they? How were Alice and I going to play this off? We're only friends? Should I tell Angela that we're dating? Are we dating?!

Alice nudged me softly and smiled up at Angela who looked extremely confused.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked her. She turned to me with her eyebrows furrowed before looking back to Alice for a moment.

"I work here," she told me slowly. She looked like she really wanted to ask me what I was doing here but she didn't. Instead, her lips twitched into a small smile. "What size are you?" She asked before nodding to the skates. Shocked that she wasn't pressing for answers, I told her my size and Alice did the same, while watching me cautiously. Angela gave Alice her skates first and Alice walked over to the bench to put them on. I could feel her eyes on me though and Angela leaned towards me as she gave me my skates.

"I won't tell anyone at school," she promised me. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes.

"I wouldn't care if you did," I muttered as a response. "Thanks," I told her as I held up the skates. She nodded and moved onto the people in the line. I sat down across from Alice and slid my Converse off and the skates on. They felt really stiff and weird. Alice giggled as she watched my expression as I tried to stand up. "Yeah, please keep laughing at me. It's not like I need help or anything," I huffed. Alice bit her bottom lip and held out a hand. I looked at it for a split second before throwing away the small voice in the back of my head telling me to not touch her and took her hand. She helped me stand up. I lifted my foot and it felt extremely heavy.

"When you walk outside the rink, just walk normally," she told me. I looked up at her with an eyebrow raised. _Normally?_

Surely enough though, I took a few steps and I was fine. _Yeah, I could do this._ I walked with Alice through the doors of the tall glass walls and was met with cool air. The music was loud and there were some lights flashing, making the room light up like a night club. Alice and I made it to the little gateway into the rink.

"Ready?" Alice asked me with a small smile tugging at her lips. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach fluttering. I didn't want to make a fool out of myself. I nodded to her and she must have sensed that I wanted her to go in first because she took a step forward, watching me closely. I nodded again and smiled at her. She grinned back and slid onto the ice slowly. Well that looked easy, I thought. I took a step onto the ice and my foot immediately felt out from under me. I cursed and flinched for the impact of hitting the ice but that never happened. Two strong, cold hands grabbed me and hoisted me up. Alice pulled me over to the side a little so I could grab the rail that was along the entire rink. A large smile was planted on Alice's face and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Have I finally found something you're not good at?" She asked. I scoffed.

"Yeah 'cuz you're so great," I mumbled sarcastically. She rose an eyebrow and smirked. In a blink, she was off, zooming around the rink, skating as gracefully as possible. Apparently just needing to show off, she got into the middle of the rink before jumping and spinning multiple times in the air, landing and spinning again. She raced passed me and stuck her tongue out. She went around the rink again before sliding to a stop at me so quickly that I thought she was going to run into me.

"What were you saying?" She asked, her eyes sparkling. My cheeks hurt with how big my smile was at that moment and I shook my head.

"Show off," I muttered. Alice laughed at that and held both her hands out, palm up. I felt my eyebrows furrow at that and I looked up at her again, confused. She nodded towards her hand and I took them cautiously, keeping my feet dead still. The tingling shot through my hands and up my arms as her cool skin made contact with mine. Once she had my hands, she started gliding back. My eyes widened when I realized what she was doing. I shook my head quickly. I opened my mouth to protest but Alice interrupted me.

"Trust me?" She asked cautiously, all hint of been fun and flirty was gone. The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"No," I snapped. Alice frowned and sighed quietly. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I didn't…. I didn't mean that." Alice didn't respond for a moment. She kept a hold of my hands but stayed still. She took a deep breath, shook her head, and offered me a small smile before drifting backwards again. My grip on her hands increased as I felt myself need to take a step to keep up with her.

"Go ahead," she urged me.

"No, I'm-" She cut me off.

"You're not going to fall," she promised me, her eyes looking straight into mine. I bit my bottom lip harshly and stepped forwards. I lost my balance but Alice kept me upright. I slid my hands down her arms a bit so my hands were holding onto her wrists and she was doing the same for me. "Try not to pick your foot up as much. Just move your feet slightly apart and then together," she explained. I tried to do what she was telling me to. I concentrated on my feet, trying to ignore what felts like jolts of electricity going through me every time her hands tightened around my arms.

I had managed to move a few inches on my own. I felt my lips move into a small smile. I attempted to move my feet out more this time but I guess I wasn't ready because my feet fell out from under me again. Alice caught my arms and pulled me up again as she laughed softly. It took me a couple of tries to get my feet back on the ice. I'm sure I looked incredibly stupid as my feet flailed around. Once I had situated myself, I looked up at Alice's twinkling eyes. I couldn't help the grin that formed on my face at the expression on her face.

"Thanks," I muttered. She winked at me and pulled me forward again slowly. We continued like this. She held onto my wrists strongly as I attempted to ice skate. She'd catch me every time I lost my balance, which was a lot. I wasn't used to this. Being a hybrid usually made me less clumsy. I blamed the ice though.

"Can I ask you something?" Alice asked quietly. My lips twitched. That was like the third time she's asked me that question tonight. I nodded to her.

"Why are you here?" She asked, looking down at our hands gripping each other. I knew what she was really asking but I tried to avoid it.

"You drove," I joked. She looked up at me and I sighed. "Honestly?" She nodded nervously.  
"Honestly, I was freaking out about this whole mate thing and Ren told me I should suck it up and give you a chance." I didn't miss the small grimace when I mentioned Ren's name.

"And how am I doing?" She asked. I could tell that she was worried about my answer.

"Pretty damn well," I mumbled. As much as I may have wanted to hate tonight, I really couldn't. I was having so much fun. Alice beamed at me and we continued talking about nothing and everything as she held onto me and we glided extremely slowly on the ice.

A couple of hours later, we both decided that we had enough of the ice rink for today. We both returned our skates. Angela had left by then. I walked with Alice to her car in the dark, cool air. She pulled out of the parking lot silently. As we hit the main road, she glanced at me.

"Can I ask you-"

"Just ask me!" I told her with a smile on my face. Her lips twitched and she stayed quiet for a second before responding.

"What are we?" She asked.

"Well you're a vampire and-"

"Bella," she sighed. I leaned my head against the headrest and sighed too. Well that _was_ a good question, wasn't it? I looked at her as she stared out the windshield.

"I don't know," I said honestly. She nodded thoughtfully. In a way, I hoped she dropped this conversation but a larger part of me wanted us to figure this out.

"I mean," she paused. "Do you want go out again?"

"If that's your way of asking me out again, that was awful," I joked. A hint of a smile passed over her face. An idea occurred to me and I decided to just go for it since I knew that I didn't want to find out what would happen if I didn't. "I wanted to check out this bookstore this weekend. Do you want to go with me?" Alice turned to look at me and I could tell that she was surprised at my question. Her lips turned up though and she nodded quickly.

"I'd love to," she muttered.

"Okay. I'll text you and we'll figure out when," I explained.

"Okay," she confirmed. We were both quiet again for a few minutes. The question still lingering on my mind. "So, does that make us dating?"

"Is that what you want?" I asked her. She took a deep breath and nodded a little.

"It is, I think," she told me. I took a deep breath. So much has happened tonight, I didn't think I could find the answer to this question tonight as well.

"How about we talk more about it when we go to the bookstore?" I suggested.

"Sure," she nodded and smiled. We pulled into my driveway soon after that. Alice shut the car off and hopped out. I couldn't tell if Ren was home yet but most of the lights were out so I doubted it. Alice opened my door for me. I smiled at her and jumped out of the gorgeous car. We walked up to the door and I took another deep breath before turning back to Alice. She looked at me with a small smile and a question in her eyes. I knew exactly was she was silently asking but I just couldn't do it. Not yet. I looked down at my shoes before looking up and she must have gotten what I couldn't say out loud. She nodded once and took a step closer. _Did she not get our whole silent interaction like I thought she did?_

Alice reached a hand out and slowly traced my cheekbone with a finger before running her knuckles down my cheek softly.

"I had a really good time tonight," she whispered as she leaned towards me. Adrenaline shot through my veins and I _almost_ shot my arms out to push her away from me. I nodded.

"Me too," I whispered, barely trusting my voice. Alice smiled and quickly pecked my cheek again like she had done just a few short days ago. She stepped away from me, and I sighed.

"Text me about the bookstore," she reminded me.

"I will."

"Goodnight Bella," she muttered as she took a few steps towards the car.

"Goodnight," I mumbled. I stood on the front step of the house until I watched her get into her car, wave to me, and pull away. I took a deep breath and walked through the front door.

Tonight's events replayed in my mind over and over again. I had such a great time and I could not wait to do it again. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to be mates with Alice. Who knows?

But there was one thing I was sure of: Alice had lied to me tonight.

_You're not going to fall_, she had said.

But I was falling.

I was starting to fall for her.

* * *

**A/N: What did you all think? Did anyone think of the ice rink? Hopefully you all liked it (and aren't mad that they didn't kiss yet...) I don't want to rush things so let me know if the pace is okay, or if you want it to go any faster or slower...**

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**Next Chapter: Ren and Bella have a chat about their dates and Bella goes to the bookstore with Alice!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: So... it's been a very long time. I have NOT forgotten about this story, and I'm not giving up on it! I just hit major writer's block. So I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get a chapter out, I really am. I'm hoping to start updating more since I have some more free time. Giant thanks to Emma Lee Rose who is incredible! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. **

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_Previously..._

But there was one thing I was sure of: Alice had lied to me tonight. _You're not going to fall_, she had said. But I was falling.

I was starting to fall for her.

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**Chapter 19**

**_Bella's POV_**

I groaned as I rolled over in my bed, trying to escape from the sun's light that was shining through my window. A few things hit me at right about the same moment. The first being, I was alone in my room. Ren wasn't here. And two, I had an amazing time last night.

There really was no use in denying it at this point, was there? Giving Alice a chance had really paid off. A small part of me had wished that I would have had an awful time. But a larger part was ecstatic. I still had no clue how this was going to work. I don't know if I could really trust Alice with everything. I knew that she had told me quite a few of her secrets but she was getting few from me in return.

I sighed and rolled out of bed. I wasn't sure where Ren was and if something had happened to her while she was with Jake, I'd kick his ass. I quickly hopped down the stairs and felt myself relax when I caught sight of Ren practically hanging off the couch. I quietly walked over to her and attempted in helping her onto the cushions more so that when she woke up, she wouldn't fall face-first onto the floor. Apparently she wasn't as asleep as I had thoughts she was because she mumbled something and swatted at my arms. I chuckled at that and leaned against the arm of the sofa, watching her roll back onto the couch and blink her eyes open.

"Hey," she murmured, her voice still husky from sleep. I smiled a bit at her.

"Why'd you sleep down here?" I asked, curiously. She shrugged a shoulder.

"I dunno. Didn't really feel right to get into bed with you after we had both gone on dates," she muttered. I felt myself frown a little at that. It wasn't that it didn't make sense, because it did to an extent. I was just that things were changing. A lot.

"When did you get back last night?" I hadn't heard her come in. Then again, I was tired after the evening that I had.

"Sometime around one, I think," she told me. I rose an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Bella. Jeez. I fell asleep on his shoulder at the bonfire."

"Uh huh," I teased. I stood up and made my way into the kitchen to make something for breakfast. Ren followed me and sat down at the table.

"How was your night?" She questioned. I took a deep breath and gave up my pride. I turned around and leaned my back against the counter while I nodded.

"It was," I paused. "Really incredible." Ren's smile grew and she waited for me to elaborate.

"We went to La Bella Italia for dinner. And this idiot waiter was oblivious and after we ate, he kept asking Alice out-"

"What did you do?" She asked, obviously liking the story. I smirked and felt my face heat up a bit. _Why was I telling her this again?_

"Uh, well I sort of came up behind her and played on the fact that we were on a date. It was stupid but it worked," I quickly continued, hoping Ren wouldn't stay focused on that part of the night. "So then, Alice took me to the ice rink." Ren rose an eyebrow. "And we ran into Angela, who I go to school with. And then for like the next hour, Alice practically held me up because I can't ice skate for my life, apparently." Ren chuckled.

"Sounds like fun," she muttered. I nodded and was completely aware of the giant smile on my face.

"What about your night?" I asked her, attempting to turn the attention away from me.

* * *

_**Alice's POV**_

After the date, I practically ran to my room, locked the door and threw myself on my bed. I know that action probably seemed like something one would do when they were upset. But I was just the opposite. I could not have been happier.

The date went extremely well. I mean, there were a few little bumps in the road, like the waiter who would not take no for an answer. But overall I had an amazing time. I just hoped Bella did too.

When she had asked me to go to the bookstore with her, I was completely shocked. I was so not used to this feeling and she just so happened to be the cause of that more and more it seemed.

So for the majority of the night, I sat, cross-legged, on my comfortable bed, a huge smile on my face. The events from the evening kept replaying in my head. I still could not get over the feeling of Bella pressed up behind me. Or the sight of her smiling widely at the ice rink. I was worried for a moment when we bumped into Angela but of all of Bella's friends, she seemed to be the least likely to gossip. After all, I still didn't know exactly what Bella and I were at this moment.

I was hoping that she would keep to her word about talking about this when we meet up to go to the bookstore. I needed to know if we were both on the same page. I didn't want to rush her into anything.

As the sun rose up, I had to stop myself from texting Bella. I didn't want to seem clingy or anything. And it wasn't that I thought she would back out of our plans. She was the one who had asked me out this time. Even if it was to a little bookstore, I was looking forward to seeing her again.

After about eleven in the morning, I could barely stop myself from sending a message. I was starting to worry that she would, in fact, "forget" about asking me to go with her today. I had already typed out dozens of messages before deleting them. I had just opened a new blank message when Nettie shouted to me.

"Just do it, Alice!" She called. I felt my lips pull up into a little smile and I typed out the message and clicked send before I could erase it again.

_Good morning_, I had sent. There, I thought. I kept it simple. It was easy to start a conversation off of as well. A minute later, my phone buzzed and I bit my lip in excitement.

_Hey. How are you doing?_ I quickly typed out a response.

_Great. Can't stop thinking about last night. _I hit send and immediately started worrying that she would freak out. Was I coming on too strong with that? Shoot. I wished I could take it back. Before I could ponder much more on this situation, my phone went off again.

_Me too. You still want to go to the bookstore?_

_Absolutely. _I knew I probably should have thought about how desperate I may sound but I was too excited about the possibility of seeing Bella again. A small part of me had thought that she would have pushed me away by now.

_Great. How about after lunch? _I smiled at that message. At least I'd be able to have some decent time to pick out what to wear.

_Sounds good. Want me to pick you up? _I still had the feeling that Bella didn't want to come around my house anytime soon.

_I'm starting to think you don't like my motorcycle._ I grinned at her response.

_I've got nothing against your bike. In fact, I think it's rather hot. _I knew I was testing my luck here but I could not wait to see her response.

_You ever ridden one? _I frowned at how she avoided my little flirtatious comment.

_Eh, Jasper has a bike but I've never really been on it. I'm more of a sports car kind of girl._

_Can't argue with that. I bet I can change your mind with a short ride though._

_Are you inviting me to ride your bike?_

_I might be. _I smirked and responded quickly.

_I was under the impression you don't just let anyone on your "baby." _ It took a few minutes for

Bella to reply to my message. And when she did, I bit my lip and rose an eyebrow.

_I don't. I'll see you after lunch._

* * *

_**Bella's POV**_

It wasn't until about two o'clock when Alice pulled onto the driveway. I could try as much as I wanted to, but I couldn't deny the flickering of butterflies in my stomach. I grabbed my keys and passed by the living room. Ren had fallen asleep again on the couch. I told her she could go upstairs and use my room but she waved me away with a hand and sunk down into the couch. I smiled at seeing my best friend so happy and opened the front door. Alice had hopped out of the gorgeous Mercedes. She grinned at me, and I couldn't help but return the smile. Just as I had taken a few steps outside, another familiar engine could be heard from around the corner. Alice's smile dropped as Charlie's police cruiser pulled slowly onto the driveway. I felt my fists clench at my sides as I prepared for the inevitable confrontation that would most likely come out of this situation.

Charlie shut the car off, got out of the cruiser and glared at Alice.

"I would be really careful about what you say right now," I warned him. I did not want another repeat of what happened last time Charlie and Alice were in close proximity. Charlie turned to me, and I could see him grinding his teeth together before faking a smile that looked a lot more like a grimace.

"I was going to politely ask Alice if she would like to join us for dinner tomorrow night," he managed to say through his clenched teeth. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see how conflicted Alice was at the moment. She seemed to be drawn between staying where she stood now or moving towards me. I didn't stray my eyes from Charlie though so I couldn't have been sure.

"You know she doesn't eat," I snapped at him. I knew this probably wasn't very fair to him. I mean, I completely understood why he was so hostile. I had been the same only a few days ago.

"It's more of a formality," Charlie muttered. I swallowed a growl. I had opened my mouth to argue but Alice spoke before I could get a word out.

"I'd love to come, Chief Swan," she said, sounding more confident than I expected. Charlie's look of surprise lasted only a few seconds before he masked it with a huff and continued past me, into the house without another word.

"That was," Alice paused for a second, "interesting." I made a small sound of agreement before walking towards her. Alice's thoughtful face turned into a smile, and she rocked forward on her feet, pecking my cheek when I got close enough. I felt the corners of my lips twitch up and rolled my eyes at the bounce of Alice's eyebrows. "So bookstore?" She asked, curiously as she opened the passenger side door for me.

"Yeah, there's just something I want to check out," I told her. Alice hummed before closing my door and walking around to the driver's side. She slid into the seat gracefully before starting up the engine.

"Thunderbird and Whale?" Alice asked, referring to the name of the bookstore, while pulling out of the driveway.

"Yeah," I mumbled, looking out the window at the trees we passed by. In all honesty, I wanted to check out this book on the Quileute tribe. I didn't know very much about the shifters or werewolves or whatever they wanted to be called. A small part of me was also wondering if anything about the Cullens was in it.

I knew Alice probably really wanted to bring up the whole "what are we doing?" conversation, but I wasn't about to start that. We sat quietly for the majority of the ride. Alice tried to get me to talk, by asking me about what I did that morning or what plans I had for the rest of the weekend, and I answered her but didn't go into much more detail. Eventually, as we drove into Port Angeles, she stopped trying, still turning her head to look at me every now and again.

I had been in a relatively good mood this morning. Seeing Charlie had made me all tense. I had no idea what he was planning for tomorrow but I didn't really want Alice to have to deal with it.

Alice parked outside of the bookstore. It was a small building with some steps leading up to the door. Alice and I walked quietly together up the stairs. A little bell above the door rang when we walked through and an older man looked up from the newspaper, giving us a nod of recognition before looking back down. Alice followed a few steps behind as I walked through the aisles, looking for the book I had in mind.

"Do you know where it is?" Alice asked quietly, not wanting to break the strange silence of the store. Just as I opened my mouth to respond, my eyes landed on the tattered bind of the book. I slid it out from the shelve and looked it over. I felt Alice walk up behind me, careful not to touch me as she looked over my shoulder at the book in my hands. "The Quileute history?" I nodded and turned my head, misinterpreting how much space was between us as I came nose-to-nose with Alice. I felt my breath hitch, and I froze. Alice smiled innocently, playfully bumped my nose with her's, before pulling away and taking a step back. I let myself relax.

"I d-don't know very much about them." I felt stupid for stuttering. Alice nodded and bit her bottom lip in thought. I purposefully faked interest in the corner of the book I had in my arms.

"You could have asked me about them," Alice practically whispered, shooting a small glance at the man behind the desk who was still so focused on the paper. Alice took my wrist gently and pulled me to the back corner of the store. I followed, not sure where this conversation was going. We reached the corner, the farthest point from the man, and Alice dropped my hand. "It's just that, that book's going to be a little biased and if it says something about my family then-"

"I'm not going to believe everything in this," I assured her, wiggling the book to show that it's what I was talking about. "I just wanted to know more about the tribe. I didn't think you'd want to tell me."

"Well if you had asked, of course I would've told you, Bella," she told me, seeming a little offended. Her eyes searched mine as if she was trying to portray how honest she was being, but I sighed and looked out the window. Out the corner of my eye, I could see Alice watching me closely, but I didn't turn my head. After a few minutes of no response from me, Alice sighed. "You really don't trust me, do you?" I scoffed.

"Don't take it personally, I don't trust anyone," I snapped at her. Alice roughly ran her hand through her short hair, growling softly.

"You trust _Ren_," she grumbled. I bit my lip from arguing back and just glared at her. She stared back with dark eyes. "You want to ruin this afternoon? Fine!" She grabbed the book out of my hands and stomped over to the man with the paper, who looked up, clearly surprised. I pushed the thought that Alice looked kind of cute when she was pissed off and followed her to see what she was doing. "Here," she mumbled, throwing the man a hundred dollar bill before stalking out the door. The man looked between us, but I paid him no attention. I cautiously followed the vampire outside. She was facing away from me, standing with one hand holding the book at her side and the other on the back of her neck. I could clearly see that she was trying to calm herself down. After a few unneeded deep breaths, she turned around and approached me. "I'm sorry," she muttered, holding out the book. I took it slowly.

"I could have bought it," I grumbled. Alice's lips turned up, and she shook her head a little, chuckling quietly. I huffed and slammed the car door as I sat down in the passenger's seat. Alice slid in next to me and started the engine.

"Don't take your anger out on the car," Alice told me with a raised eyebrow in amusement. "It's not even mine."

"I'm not angry," I lied. "Who's car is it?" Alice pulled out of the parking lot.

"Carlisle's," she simply said. She turned to me and smirked. "Mine's too conspicuous." She winked at me. I rolled my eyes and looked back out the window. Her comment had made me want to ask what kind of car she had, but I didn't take the bait to talk. I was still sort of upset that she had bought the book for me. I knew it was a nice gesture and everything, but I can buy my own book. She hadn't even asked.

About halfway into our car ride, Alice started the conversation that I was hoping she would forget. I knew I had told her we could talk about it today, but I really wasn't in the mood at the moment.

"Can we talk about us?" She had asked quietly. I sighed and leaned my head back against the headrest.

"I don't really know what there is to talk about," I mumbled, hoping she would just drop it.

"There's plenty we've got to talk about," Alice started. "Can we please just have a serious conversation for two minutes without you blowing up at me?"

"Apparently not," I muttered under my breath. I could feel the familiar warmth spreading through my chest when I got angry.

"Bella, we're mates, like it or not and-" I cut her off.

"I'll just stick with not liking it then," I snapped at her. That made Alice stop talking. She looked over to me, probably trying to see if I was joking, but I stared back at her. It was harsh, I knew that. There were definitely better ways to have worded it, but I felt as if she had backed me into a corner. I knew there wasn't any possible way for me to deny the fact that we were mates. I wasn't going to deny that I didn't like it though. Alice frowned and sighed before turning back to the road and speeding up. We didn't talk for the whole ride back. Guilt started taking over my mind. I couldn't get Alice's hurt face out of my mind. She looked so defeated as she drove, her eyes blinking quickly. I bit my bottom lip as she pulled onto the street where I lived. Neither one of us spoke as she pulled into the driveway and put the car in park. She turned her head away from me to look out her window as I pulled the seatbelt off. A part of me wanted to say something, apologize maybe, but I just sighed and pulled myself out of the car, taking the book with me. The second I closed the door, she put the car in reverse and sped out of the driveway.

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**A/N: So what did you think? I really hope I haven't lost all of you. Those of you who are still with me, thank you! I know Bella may seem like all she's doing is pushing Alice away, but I promise things will start looking up soon. Just keep in mind that she's been through a lot. I'd love a review to let me know what you guys think! Sorry again about the wait. **

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**Next Chapter: Charlie's dinner plans don't go as expected **


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Wow! Thank you all so much for the support. I was worried that I'd lost a lot of you. The reviews for the last chapter were amazing! I know that Bella doesn't seem very fair to Alice at the moment, but that's going to change eventually. Just try to keep in mind what she went through. Charlie as well. They're not meant to seem like the bad guys. They're just having a hard time with trust. Anyway, huge thanks to incredible Emma Lee Rose. Hope you all enjoy this one!**

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**Chapter 20**

_**Bella's POV**_

After Alice had dropped me off, I had gone straight up to my room and locked the door. I didn't want to talk to Ren. I knew what she would have said. She would've told me that I was being unfair. She would've demanded that I apologize. She came up a few times to try and talk, but I wouldn't let her in.

I almost called Alice Saturday night, but decided I should just talk to her at school on Monday. I strongly doubted that she'd show up to "dinner" Sunday night. Not after my behavior.

I spent most of Sunday working out in my room and reading through the book Alice had bought for me. I was unsuccessfully trying to get Alice's hurt expression out of my mind. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw how defeated and sad she looked.

Sunday evening, I figured that I needed to tell Charlie that Alice wouldn't be coming so he could stop whatever game he was playing. I hopped down the stairs, knowing that Ren was out. I had heard her leave a few hours ago. I figured she went to Jake's.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I realized that my uncle was sitting in his recliner, watching the game. Had he forgotten about dinner?

"I don't think Alice is going to make it tonight," I told him. Charlie looked up. I couldn't read his emotion.

"What a shame," he muttered sarcastically. I sighed and turned around. My foot had hit the first step when someone knocked on the front door. That couldn't be Alice, right? Surely, she was mad at me. I walked over to the door, since Charlie was leaning forward in his seat. Apparently something important was happening in his game. I pulled the door opened and was met with the familiar golden eyes that had been haunting me for the last day. They didn't sparkle like I was used to them doing. Instead of letting her in, I stepped outside and pulled the door behind me.

Alice was standing on my front porch, her hair looking a little disheveled, as if she had ran her fingers through it multiple times. She was dressed in a simple pair of little blue skinny jeans, a white blouse and a dark blue vest. Her necklace with her family crest stood out against her pale skin. Her lips were set in a fine line, and I could tell she wasn't her playful self.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. I wasn't sure why I spoke so quietly. Maybe I didn't want Charlie listening in. Maybe I was still feeling bad about yesterday.

"I was invited to dinner," she stated monotonously. I bit my lip at how depressed she sounded.

"I didn't think you'd come," I told her, honestly. Alice's eyebrow twitched and she tilted her head to the left. Her expression at that particular moment was adorable.

"Because of one argument?" She replied. I wasn't sure what to say so I shrugged pathetically. Once she realized that was all she was getting out of me, she sighed silently. "Are you going to let me in? I'm sure Charlie asked me here for a reason." I really had no clue what Charlie wanted, but I was sure that it was nothing good. I almost wished that Alice hadn't come here. I didn't want to put her through this. Whatever _this_ was. Alice had gotten impatient again as I got lost in my thoughts. She took a step towards the door, holding her hand out to open it. I shut my mind off for two seconds and grabbed her wrist. She turned to me, raising her eyebrows in confusion.

"I um," I trailed off, not exactly sure what I had been thinking when I took her wrist. I wanted to apologize. I just wasn't sure how to word it. Alice ran her tongue over her lips and pulled the bottom one into her mouth as she looked down to where I had a hold of her. Her eyes flickered up to mine before looking back down as she slowly slid her hand around so that she was holding the back of my hand in her palm. She gently pushed her thumb onto my palm and pressed down softly. I felt the familiar tingles shoot throughout my arm, and my hand flexed in response. I couldn't stop the small smile from forming on my lips as Alice smirked. "I'm sorry," I whispered. Alice looked up suddenly, obviously surprised. She watched my face for a few seconds before smiling sweetly and dropping my hand.

"I know," she muttered. She rocked forward onto her toes, like she had done the day before, and pecked my cheek quickly. "You going to let me in?" She asked again, her eyes now sparkling. I almost sighed in relief before nodding and opening the door for her. As she glided past me, she slid her hand into mine so discreetly that it had taken me a moment to realize it. I followed her back into the house, preparing for whatever this dinner would hold.

"Chief Swan," Alice greeted politely. "I don't think I've formally introduced myself, I'm Alice Cullen."

_Please be nice_, I silently begged my uncle.

"I know who you are," he grumbled, eyeing my hand holding Alice's. I felt a little uncomfortable with the sudden display of affection, but I had already screwed up enough this weekend. Plus, it felt kind of nice, and it seemed to keep me calm. "Bella didn't think you'd be able to make it tonight."

Alice smiled softly. "I knew this was important so I had to come," she explained. I wondered if she had seen how tonight would go. I knew that she had told me that my future was fuzzy, but I wasn't sure if she had gotten glimpses of tonight.

"I need a beer," Charlie muttered, mostly to himself. He passed us and walked into the kitchen. I turned back to Alice and opened my mouth to ask her if she had any visions of tonight but she spoke before I could.

"No, I can't see anything. You've been getting clearer in my visions, but tonight's just blank," she told me quickly, looking a little worried about it.

"What does that mean?" I asked quietly. Charlie knew about the Cullens being vampires, but that was the extent of his knowledge really. I wanted to keep it that way. Alice shrugged.

"I don't know, but I'm sure everything will be okay," she assured me with a cute little smile and a swing of our joined hands.

Charlie walked out of the kitchen with a beer in his hands. He scoffed at our hands again before speaking.

"We'll start dinner once everyone else gets here," he muttered. I rose an eyebrow in confusion. Who the hell was 'everyone else'? I thought it was just Alice coming over. Alice looked just as confused before she tensed up next to me, her eyes full of alarm.

"No," she gasped. I was instantly worried.

"Problem Alice?" Charlie sneered before opening the door. Alice just glared at the back of his head.

"What? What is it?" I asked quickly, wanting answers. Alice's eyes met mine and I could see the worry and sadness in them. "Alice?" It was then that I smelt it.

Jacob.

My head snapped towards Charlie who had stepped outside. I felt a quiet growl go through my chest before I took a step towards the door. Alice pulled on my arm, holding me back.

"It's okay," she started.

"No! It's not okay! He knows that you two can't-" She cut me off.

"It's going to be okay, alright?" She told me. I wasn't sure if she was trying to persuade me or herself. "We can both act like adults. I won't let your uncle get the reaction he wants out of me."

"I'm so sorry he's doing this to you," I apologized. Alice smiled and pecked my cheek again.

"Come on, let's get this over with," she said. She took a deep breath. We walked together outside, still holding hands. My truck pulled up onto the driveway and Ren and Jacob hopped out. Jake must have not been paying much attention because it took until he literally saw Alice that he took a defensive stance and grabbed Ren, pulling her behind him, growling loudly at _my_ Alice. Ren's eyebrows furrowed as she connected what was happening. Alice stood tensed up next to me. I took a step closer to her and squeezed her hand. I could practically see her forcing a growl down.

"Good to see you again, Jacob!" Charlie praised. I huffed. Ren's eyes met mine, and she clenched her jaw.

"What the hell is going on here, Charlie?" She demanded, shoving Jake away from her. He tried to pull her close, but she glared at him. Charlie smirked.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just hoping we could have a nice family dinner," he muttered. Alice pushed herself to stand taller as she had subconsciously started crouching. Alice and Jacob continued their glaring match as Ren and I glared at my uncle.

"Charlie! You know they're natural enemies. We can't sit around and have a "family dinner" with-" Charlie cut her off.

"Why not? They can't handle it?" He argued. What the hell was he playing at? Jacob stood a little straighter at the challenge.

"I can handle it. I'm not sure about this _leech_," Jacob growled. I felt myself begin to shake at the nickname. How dare he call my Alice that awful name! Alice felt my trembling and pulled me into her, not in a defensive or aggressive way, but in a comforting one. She tried to relax a bit and slid her arm around my waist. I gladly leaned into her further, feeling her cool skin calm me down. It was like she was the antidote to the unpleasant side effects of what I was.

"I'm fine," Alice muttered, still tense but starting to relax. Maybe I had a similar effect on her.

"Great," Charlie mumbled, obviously hoping that neither one of them would have given in.

"Jake? Did you bring the food?" Jacob sighed and nodded. He turned his gaze away from Alice and pulled out a brown paper bag from the truck.

"Some of Harry Clearwater's famous fish fry," he announced. The bag was dripping with something that made it look so unappealing it wasn't even funny. Ren and I both made a face while Alice made some disgusted noise. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Looks appetizing, huh? Bet you wish you could eat," I joked. She smirked at me.

"I've never been so glad that I can't," she replied. I grinned and watched Jacob follow Charlie into the house. Ren walked up next to me as Alice and I followed.

"Good afternoon, Alice," Ren said politely. Alice smiled in return. Ren turned to me. "Hey, I had no idea he was doing this, otherwise I would have totally-" I stopped her.

"It's okay. I know. I just hope we can all get through this alive," I told them, only half-joking. Neither one of them laughed. Once we made it inside, we all walked into the kitchen. In the enclosed space, the scents of both Alice and Jacob were trapped. I slid over to the small window and opened it a bit, hoping that it would help. Alice gave me a small smile from the other side of the room. She had dropped her arm from my waist as we entered the kitchen, leaning against the doorway as Jacob and my uncle sorted out the food. Ren stood next to Jake and was talking with him quietly about something.

'_Are you okay?_' I mouthed to Alice. She shrugged a shoulder, still looking really tensed. I frowned. '_I'm sorry_.' I wasn't sure if I was apologizing more about this situation or what I had done the day before. Alice's lips twitched, and she winked at me. I could not believe that she was going through this all for me. She's putting herself in one of the hardest positions. I highly doubt Jacob will try anything, not with me and Ren there, but the thought that he wanted to was enough.

"Are you sure you don't want any of this?" Charlie subtly mocked. Alice politely smiled.

"No, thank you," she muttered. She was being so respectful too. Charlie rolled his eyes and took a few plates to the table with Jacob doing the same. We all sat around the table, Alice and I on one side, Jacob and Ren across from us, and Charlie sitting in between me and Jacob at the end of the table. It worked out so Alice was sitting closest to the window which I assumed she liked because her shoulders relaxed a bit as she sat down. I gave her an encouraging smile, and she grinned back.

"So how have you been, Jacob? I haven't seen you much lately. I used to see you all the time when you and Bells were kids. You were inseparable," Charlie spoke. Alice's grin faded, and she pursed her lips.

"I've been good. Been pretty busy restoring an old car in my garage," Jake said, keeping the conversation going. I looked up and noticed Ren watching me with her eyebrows furrowed.

'_What?_' I mouthed to her. She frowned and shook her head before turning back to the guys.

"You remember when you guys used to make mud pies together?" Charlie said, ignoring Jacob's remarks. Jacob's eyebrow twitched.

"Uh, yeah," he mumbled.

"I always thought you two would end up together," Charlie said. Alice sighed a growl.

"Charlie!" I scolded quietly.

"What? I'm just being honest. Do you have a problem with being honest, Alice?" He asked, turning the attention to the vampire sitting stiffly next to me.

"No, Sir," she muttered back, her jaw clenching. My uncle smirked.

"Good. So I can ask you a few questions then?" Alice took a deep breath.

"You can ask me anything you want," she said, shifting her chair a bit closer to mine.

"Why'd you decide to ruin Bella's life?" Charlie spat at her. I spun around and glared at my uncle.

"You-" I had just gotten one word out when I felt a cool hand on my knee. I looked up at the soft golden eyes, and I forgot what I was even going to say in the first place.

"It's okay," she whispered to me. I shook my head and was about to protest, but she stopped me again with a firm nod. She looked up to Charlie with a neutral face.

"I'm not sure what you mean," she spoke slowly.

"You know damn well what I mean. You chose to-" Alice interrupted.

"I didn't choose anything," she mumbled honestly.

"Yes, you did! You decided that killing her parents wasn't enough," Charlie yelled. I flinched, and Alice tightened her hold on my knee. "You had to go and bind her to you with your disgusting vampire ways!"

"First of all," Alice continued to speak respectfully, "I didn't kill her parents. My family and I refrain from killing humans and-" Jacob decided it was time to join the discussion. He scoffed loudly.

"I know for a fact that all of you have blood on your hands," he argued.

"Jake," Ren warned and slapped his arm, but he didn't drop his glare at Alice. Alice was quiet for a moment.

"My family has made mistakes-" Jake cut her off again.

"Like you haven't!" He yelled. Alice sighed, and I frowned. I had never really thought about Alice killing someone. The image didn't fit right in my mind. She couldn't have possibly harmed another person, could she? I mean, she's a vampire so of course she has the instinct. But my Alice? Killing someone?

"What's the point in telling you that I haven't ended another's life? Despite the fact that it's the truth, you won't believe me." Jacob rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Just because I'm physically a monster, doesn't mean I have to act like one."

"It's in your nature to kill. You people took my brother from me!" Charlie shouted. I flinched again, and Alice growled quietly. "And now you're taking my niece-"

"She's not-" Charlie interrupted me.

"Of course she is! She's brainwashing you with this mating bullshit!" He argued. Alice's posture changed. She frown and furrowed her eyebrows.

"I'm not-" Alice started quietly, but Charlie wasn't done.

"You are! You're trapping her in a relationship she doesn't want!" Alice's hand on my knee went slack so it fell off my leg.

"I…" Alice trailed off, shaking her head slowly.

"Can't you see that she doesn't want to be with such a monster? I bet every time she looks at you, she's reminded of her parents' death." Alice cringed. I wanted to speak up and tell her that it wasn't true, but my mind didn't seem to be working. I couldn't stop watching as the calm, polite and confident Alice shrunk into this sad and insecure girl. "You're not even giving her a choice in the matter!"

"She has a choice," Alice mumbled, her eyes cast down at the table before she looked up at my uncle who was glaring harshly at her.

"No, she doesn't. You're forcing her into-"

"I'm not forcing anyone into anything!" Alice yelled, her anger showing as she panted quietly next to me, her now dark eyes glaring at Jacob.

"Oh really? So if she decided that she didn't want to be with you?" Charlie challenged. Alice turned to looked at him. They stared at each other for what felt like hours but must have just been a few seconds. Alice swallowed harshly and took a deep breath.

"Then I would," she bit her lip and looked down. "I would find a way to-to break the bond." I felt my jaw drop in surprise.

"But that's not possible," Ren spoke my thoughts. Alice's shoulders sank and she sighed loudly.

"The one thing I want, more than for her to be with me, is for her to be happy," she started. My heart felt heavy in my chest as I heard her dejected voice go on. "If she would be happier without me," Alice paused for a moment. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before speaking again. "Then fine."

"You can't break a mating bond though. You'd both go insane without contact," Ren added.

"I'd figure it out," Alice promised, determination in her voice. Everyone in the room was quiet for a few minutes after that. My mind was still having a hard time catching up with the conversation. Alice was sitting in her chair looking more depressed than I had ever seen her. Ren was watching me with her eyebrows furrowed again while Jacob and Charlie continued to glare at the vampire next to me.

"You're lying" Charlie broke the silence. Alice's jaw clenched again, and she looked up, raising an eyebrow. "That's all you people ever do. You lie. You kill. You hurt. And you manipulate," he spat at her. Alice's lips twitched, but she didn't say anything. "You've already taken too much from my family. I forbid you from being in this revolting relationship with _my_-"

Alice snapped then. She stood up so quickly that her chair flew across the room and smashed into the wall, making me flinch at the sound. She slammed her hands onto the table and leaned over it, towards my uncle.

"With all due respect, _Chief Swan_," she snarled, "I didn't come here tonight for you. I didn't come here for anyone other than her. You've put me in the most tense situation I have ever been in, and I guarantee you won't find another vampire on the planet that would willingly sit through this dinner. Not only did you bring in a _wolf_," she paused and looked up when Jacob snarled. "But you insulted my family, me and the bond I have with your niece. I'm trying to be respectful. I understand that you have been through a loss. But that is not _my_ fault. I'm fully aware of the kind of destruction that my kind are capable of. And maybe you're too ignorant to believe that not all of us are the same, _Charlie_," she sneered. "But get one thing through your head," she demanded. "It is not physically or emotionally possible for me to hurt her. So no, I'm not lying. If she honestly doesn't want me, then I'll leave and find a way to break the bond. But until she says the words, I'm not going anywhere." When she was finished with her rant, she panted, glaring at my uncle who smirked.

"Fine. Go on then Bella," he encouraged. Hearing my name snapped me out of my thoughts. Was all of the stuff she just said true? "Tell her."

Would she really do the impossible just to make me happy? I shouldn't believe her, right? So why do I? Why do I honestly think she would go to the ends of the earth just to break our bond? I mean, that's what I want, right? I don't want to be with her.

I don't want to be with her. I opened my mouth, but the words were caught when she turned her head and her dark pleading eyes met mine. The air rushed out of my lungs, and I felt like crying from just seeing the despair in her usually light eyes. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears as they silently begged me not to say the words.

Next to us, Charlie was getting impatient. "Tell her you don't want to be with her, Bella," he ordered, but I blocked him out.

I don't want to be with her?

I swallowed and willed my eyes to leave her's, but they wouldn't. She was giving me a choice. A choice I didn't deserve. She would honestly leave my life if I told her to right now. Did I want that? I thought I did.

"Damn it! Tell her, Isabella!" Charlie yelled.

I watched as Alice's lips parted and she mouthed something. I couldn't quite make it what it was until she did it again. '_Bella_.'

Did I really want her to leave?

"Isabella Marie Swan, you tell her right now that you-" I interrupted him.

"I can't," I mumbled, surprising myself. I couldn't do it. Alice's eyebrows furrowed.

"Excuse me?" Charlie asked. Finally, I looked away from Alice and over to my uncle who looked confused.

"I can't," I told him louder.

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**A/N: So what do you think? Think Bella's finally going to give Alice a fair chance? Let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading!**

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**Next Chapter: Alice and Bella are going to have a much needed talk.**


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